Q&A With TWU Local 100 President John Samuelsen
Yesterday afternoon, Streetsblog NYC Editor Ben Friend posted an informative Q&A with Transport Workers Union Local 100 President John Samuelsen. Here is a quick sample:
Last December, John Samuelsen was elected president of TWU Local 100, the union that represents 38,000 subway and bus workers in the New York City region. He assumed the leadership from former president Roger Toussaint at a troubled time for the transit system. With transit tax revenues in free fall and state lawmakers raiding MTA coffers to plug holes in the general budget, transit riders and transit jobs were under threat.
Streetsblog readers often ask about the role New York’s biggest transit union is playing in tough legislative fights over issues like road pricing and bus lane enforcement. Under Toussaint, the TWU was quiet in the campaigns to win transit funding in Albany by enacting congestion pricing or bridge tolls. Recently, Samuelsen has perhaps been most visible on the national scene, joining social justice and environmental advocates to push for increased federal funding for transit service.
Ben Fried: The big transit story of the year is the service cuts that are on the table and which the MTA Board has voted to enact. Lets start by outlining how the TWU is responding to the cuts.
John Samuelsen: There are significant lobbying efforts going on in Albany with some bills in the mix that have the potential of stopping the whole thing. First of all let me backtrack. [MTA Chair Jay] Walder and the MTA were given a billion dollars in federal stimulus money in 2009. Out of that billion dollars they could have used roughly $100 million to pay down the service cuts and to use for the operating budget.
So Walder, who had that money in the bank, and probably still has that money in the bank, refused to use that $100 million, and instead enacted $93 million in cuts across the board, Long Island Railroad, Metro North, and New York City Transit, and MTA bus. So that’s the first thing I wanted to say, because that sets the tone for a lot of our reaction.
And one thing we’ve done is we’re working on a bill in Albany that’s being carried by Joan Millman in the Assembly, and by Bill Perkins in the Senate, that will force the MTA to use 30 million of that available 100 million. It’s essentially the state legislature directing Jay Walder to use available funds that he has in order to stop the service cuts. That’s the first item in Albany.
The second item in Albany is the bill that’s being carried by Keith Wright in the Assembly that would put a two year moratorium on any kind of service cut that the MTA proposes that could have a potential negative impact on rider safety in the subway. And it’s being carried by Dilan in the Senate. Those are two items that we’re working on heavily now in Albany.
In addition, working with the transportation committees on both sides, and the authorities committees to come up with enough budgetary cash in order to give the MTA the savings equivalent that they would make from laying off the 500 or so station agents. Also bearing in mind that a lot of the statutory funding that is earmarked for the MTA was confiscated by the state and put into the general budget.
Click here for the complete Q&A.
I have a problem with this Q&A. My problem does not lie with Ben who does an excellent job with Streetsblog. I take issue with the stance Mr. Samuelsen is taking in terms of financing. What is his obsession (& others for that matter) with using the allowed portions of stimulus funds to pay down the budget deficit? The fact is the money that could have legally been used accounts for less than 5% of the total deficit.
Mr. Samuelsen needs to find better priorities to sink his teeth into. Wasting time over an amount that is a drop in the bucket shows a lack of leadership & legitimate ideas in my honest opinion. I know that his job is to protect his members. However instead of going all out to protect some unnecessary jobs, how about worrying about the riding public who has to deal with service cuts due to the absolute need to trim the budget deficit?
I urge Mr. Samuelsen to get his priorities in order because as much as I support our workforce, they are not the only people involved in this equation. The sooner he realizes that, the better off his reign will be for not only himself, but his workers & riders as well. So what is it going to be John?
xoxo Transit Blogger
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Alternative Service To Belmont Park Starts Friday
This Friday, the Spring-Summer meet is about to start at Belmont Park & there will be one major change in place. Starting April 30th, the MTA Long Island Rail Road will no longer provide regular train service to Belmont Park. Instead, the agency will be providing alternative service except for June 4th & 5th where train service will be in place for the Belmont Stakes. Here are the complete details courtesy of a press release they sent me a few minutes ago:
The MTA Long Island Rail Road will no longer be providing regular service to Belmont Park Racetrack, effective April 30, due to the current budget situation. Special train service will, however, be provided for Belmont Stakes weekend on June 4 and June 5.
The elimination of regular service to Belmont Park was one of a number of service reductions required to address the MTA’s 2010 budget shortfall. The LIRR developed reductions that will improve efficiency while attempting to minimize the adverse impact to customers. The LIRR’s Belmont Service carries an average of 150 customers daily. Eliminating this service provides $150,000 in savings annually.
The LIRR can be used in conjunction with subway and buses to get to the track:
• NYRA SHUTTLE BUS: The New York Racing Association will provide free shuttle bus service on race days between the LIRR Queens Village Station and Belmont Park. The bus will depart from the corner of Springfield Blvd. and Jamaica Avenue at 12:30 PM. On Kentucky Derby and Preakness Days only, there will be an additional shuttle bus at 1:30 PM.
• ALTERNATE BUS SERVICE AT QUEENS VILLAGE: Take the LIRR to the Queens Village Station. Board the Q27 bus, transfer to the Q2 bus at the intersection of Springfield Blvd. and Hempstead Ave. for transport to Belmont Park.
• SUBWAY & BUS: Take the E train to Jamaica Center (Parsons Blvd.) and transfer to the Q110 bus to Belmont Park.
—-
Belmont Stakes:
The LIRR will provide direct service to Belmont on only two days: Friday, June 4 and Saturday, June 5 (Belmont Stakes Day).On the day of the big race, the LIRR will operate trains to Belmont, most direct from Penn Station beginning in the late morning. There will also be frequent westbound service back to Jamaica and Penn Station starting late afternoon and continuing through late evening. Further details on Belmont Stakes service will be available in a future news release.
xoxo Transit Blogger
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MTA NYCT Motorman’s Identity Revealed
About an hour or so ago, I unfortunately wrote an entry talking about the death of a MTA NYC Transit Motorman who had a fatal heart attack while guiding a Brooklyn-bound 
train out of the Court Square station. In the entry, I noted how the transit agency had not yet released the identity of the victim. Just a few minutes ago, they sent me a press release with more information on this unfortunate tragedy:
At approximately 8:08 this morning, Train Operator Domenick Occhiogrosso, 50, was operating a Church Avenue-bound G train pulling out of the terminal at Long Island City-Court Square in Queens when he suffered an apparent heart attack. The train came to a stop, and the Conductor walked to the lead car to investigate and found Train Operator Occhiogrosso unconscious. The Conductor radioed the Rail Control Center for medical assistance. A Train Service Supervisor moved the train back into the station to allow medical personnel to respond to the train operator. He was removed by EMS to Elmhurst Hospital, and was pronounced dead at 9:20 a.m. No customers were injured during this unfortunate incident.
Train Operator Occhiogrosso joined NYC Transit in August 1983 as a Subway Car Cleaner, and became a train operator in January 1986. He resided in Brooklyn.
Once again, I want to extend my condolences to the friends, family, & peers of Mr. Domenick Occhiogrosso.
xoxo Transit Blogger
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May Work Schedule For Fulton Transit Center
Just a short time ago, MTA New York City Transit sent me a press release with details on the May work schedule on the Fulton Transit Center. Here are the complete details:
Due to ongoing construction of the Fulton Street Transit Center, the following service changes will be in effect for weekends in May:
May 1-3:
•
&
trains bypass Broadway-Nassau St. in both directions.
• No transfers between the
,
,
, &
at Fulton Street/Broadway-Nassau.
• No
—-
May 8-10:
•
• No transfers between the
•
station (from West 4th Street
• No
—-
May 15-17:
• No
shuttle.
•
• No transfers between the
• No
—-
May 22-24:
•
• No transfers between the
•
—-
May 29-31:
•
• No transfers between the
MTA NYC Transit apologizes for any inconvenience to our customers. Service changes at Fulton Street-Broadway Nassau station complex will continue for most weekends through October. As weekends approach, customers should:
• Pick up brochures that detail alternate travel options
• Look for signs and service change posters in stations
• Visit the website at and check on “Planned Service Changes” and/or “Current Service Status”
• Sign up for free email or text message alerts at www.mta.info
• Follow changes on Twitter at nyctsubwayscoop
• Call Travel Information at 718-330-1234
The Fulton Street Transit Center:
Some of the work being done at Fulton Street/Broadway-Nassau during these weekends include reinforcing girders over the AC platform. There will also be elevator work, which consists of digging the pits on the AC platform and at least partially constructing the shafts up through all levels of the station.
For more information on the construction project itself, log on to www.mta.info . Once at the home page, click on Capital Construction (under “MTA Agency Links”), then click on Fulton Street Transit Center under Programs.
xoxo Transit Blogger
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G Train Motorman Suffers Fatal Heart Attack
Unfortunately I have to once again blog about an untimely death of a MTA worker. Earlier this morning, a yet to be unnamed motorman on the train suffered a fatal heart attack while guiding the Brooklyn-bound train out of the Court Square station. Andy Newman of the New York Times has more in this brief report:
The motorman on a G train suffered a fatal heart attack Wednesday morning while guiding the train out of the Court Square station in Queens, transit officials said.
The train immediately stopped, thanks to what is called the “dead-man’s switch” — a handle on the control board that the operator must hold down to keep the train moving. No one else was injured.
The motorman, whose name was not released, pulled out of the station, where the G line begins its run, at 8:08 a.m., New York City Transit said. Almost immediately, the train slid to a stop. The conductor walked to the front car, found the motorman unconscious and radioed for help. The motorman was pronounced dead at Elmhurst Hospital Center.
My condolences go out to the friends, family, & peers of the yet to be named motorman.
xoxo Transit Blogger
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