By Doug Cunningham

Union leaders representing 90,000 flight attendants are meeting in Washington for a three-day bargaining summit. The Association of Flight Attendants-CWA, Transport Workers Union and the International Association of Machinists are preparing an overall strategy to try to secure gains in upcoming contract after years of deep concessions imposed through bankruptcies.

By Doug Cunningham

When New York City’s Mass Transit Authority refused to bargain in good faith and attacked the pensions of transport Workers Union Local100 members, the union went on strike in December of 2005. The MTA had billions in surplus dollars but still tried to cut pensions and health care benefits. The courts found the union violated New York’s Taylor law, which barred them from legally striking. A heavy fine of $2.5 million was imposed. Dues are the lifeblood of unions and are often paid through automatic payroll checkoffs. The courts ended that automatic checkoff to punish the union for daring to defend working family pensions. TWU Local 100 Secretary Treasurer Ed Watt.

By Jesse Russell

On the heels of their President leaving jail, the New York City Transport Workers Union has filed a lawsuit against the Metropolitan Transit Authority. The suit targets the MTA for its refusal to consider a contract agreement that the transit workers voted to accept. It is the same contract that failed earlier this year. The MTA says that the contract should be settled by binding arbitration. The lawsuit sites previous years in which a contract was first voted down and then later passed and ratified by the MTA - 1978, 1985 and 1999. Last month a judge fined the union $2.5 million dollars and sentenced Toussaint to 10-days in jail for engaging in a Christmas week strike.

By Doug Cunningham

Roger Toussaint, the President of transit Workers Union Local 100 in New York City, went to jail Monday after his supporters marched across the Brooklyn Bridge in a send-off for him. A judge sentenced Toussaint to a ten day jail term for striking in December in defense of pensions. The union was also fined $2.5 million for the strike, which broke New York’s Taylor law.
AFL-CIO President John Sweeney was among the union leaders and members supporting Toussaint as he headed to jail. Toussaint says the Taylor law is biased against labor and he says the transit authority in New York City engaged in illegal behavior that was not punished. He said the TWU will go to court if the transit authority’s board doesn’t vote at its board meeting on Wednesday on a new contract for transit workers. In a re-vote, TWU members have approved a tentative agreement they rejected in December. That agreement ended the strike. The transit authority says its board will not vote on that agreement on Wednesday.

By Doug Cunningham

New York City transit workers have voted to approve a contract offering the same terms as one they rejected in January, but it’s unclear whether the vote will result in a contract agreement. A judge has hit TWU Local 100 with a $2.5 million fine and its leader, Roger Toussaint with a ten day jail sentence for last year’s illegal strike. The fine is likely to be appealed. New York City’s Mass Transit Board will be presented with the union’s contract vote April 26th.

By Doug Cunningham

Transit Workers Union Local 100 in New York City will appeal a $2.5 million fine imposed for going on strike to protect pensions last year. TWU Local 100 President Roger Toussaint says the decision is unfair.

The judge also hit the union with suspension of its automatic dues collection checkoff system, which could deprive the union of needed operating funds.

Toussaint has also been sentenced to ten days in jail and a $1000 fine. He says he will serve the sentence.

The Reverend Jesse Jackson is supporting the transit union. He said the strike, though illegal, was “a necessary evil” to defend pensions and health care for transit workers in New York City.

By Doug Cunningham

Roger Toussaint, President of New York City’s Transit Workers' Union, will spend ten days in jail. Toussaint was sentenced to jail Monday for contempt of court during last December’s transit strike in NYC. The union leader was also fined $1000.

Toussaint says the jail sentence is “regrettable”. The charges came from Toussaint’s refusal to order members of TWU Local 100 back to work after they went on strike. Their strike was illegal under New York state law.

Toussaint was ordered to start his jail sentence within 30 days. No appeal is expected.

By Jesse Russell

The head of New York City's transit union is planning to ask for a revote on the contract that was rejected by a seven vote margin earlier this year. Transport Workers Union Local 100 President Roger Toussaint said that after polling the members, he believes the proposal will pass, although it isn't clear if the Metropolitan Transit Authority is still open to accepting the contract. If not approved negotiations run the risk of heading for arbitration. Both sides have been unwilling to sit down at the negotiation table.

By Doug Cunningham

New York City's transit workers have rejected the tentative agreement on a new contract by just seven votes. The vote greatly complicates the resolution of the issues that triggered New York City's first transit strike in over twenty years last month.

It's also being seen as a defeat for Transportation Workers Union Local 100 President Roger Toussaint. The union agreed to have its members pay 1.5 percent of their wages toward health insurance benefits and that may have been what caused such a close vote, ultimately derailing the agreement reached between TWU leaders and NYC officials.

By Jesse Russell

An agreement that ended last ended December's New York City transit strike still has left some transit workers out in the cold. A faction of Transport Workers are holding rallies and encouraging other union members to vote down the agreement. The primary concern remains pensions and healthcare. The workers say they are against paying for healthcare and were not told of what they call a "secret" side deal concerning pensions. John Mooney, a TWU Local 100 executive board member spoke near Union Square:

[Mooney]: If this pension refund goes through the MTA board...goes through the MTA...transit workers will lose half their money towards taxes.

By Doug Cunningham

New York City Transit workers are back to work after the Metro transportation Authority took pensions off the table. Talks still have to be held to resolve a contract agreement. The three day strike in defense of pensions was the first transit strike in New York City in 25 years. TWU Local 100 said transit workers had to walk out to "stop the MTA’s 11th hour pension ambush. We walked out strong, and we walk back stronger." A judge ruled the strike illegal and imposed fines of a million dollars a day. Individual workers were fined two days pay for every day on strike. But New York state's Taylor law also makes it illegal to alter pensions at the bargaining table - the demand for pension concessions by the MTA that triggered the walkout.

By Doug Cunningham

The Transport Workers Union (TWU) says its members will return to work immediately following a vote by TWU's Executive Board to end the strike.TWU Presdient Roger Toussaint says the strike is over and members will return to work immediately. Toussaint says TWU will provide details of the strike settlement within a few days.
No contract agreement has been publicly announced yet, but New York City's MTA took pensions temporarily off the table before striking workers agreed to go back to work.
TWU Local 100 says transit workers had to walk out to "stop the MTA’s 11th hour pension ambush. We walked out strong, and we walk back stronger."

By Jesse Russell

Trains and buses in New York City are still at a standstill this morning as a transit strike continues. Although the strike is a technically a violation of a law that prohibits strike action against New York transit, the Transportation Workers Union says workers are tired of being "under-appreciated and disrespected" by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority.

TWU President Roger Toussaint called on New Yorkers stranded by the strike to try and understand what the workers are fighting for:

[Toussaint]: New Yorkers this is a fight over whether hard work will be rewarded with a decent retirement. This is a fight over dignity and respect on the job.

By Doug Cunningham

New York City's transportation Workers Union has called a partial strike against private bus lines after late-night talks on a new contract agreement broke down.
TWU President Roger Toussaint says the strike could spread to the city's public subway and bus systems if a fair agreement that protects pensions and health care benefits isn't reached with the Mass Transportation Authority.
The MTA wants to erode pension benefits for newly hired transit workers and wants workers to begin paying some health care premium costs. Both concession demands are coming at a time when the MTA has a surplus of a billion dollars.

By Doug Cunningham

As millions of New Yorkers watched and waited to see if the city's public transit system would be shut down by a strike, Transport Workers Union Local 100 engaged in intense bargaining with the Metropolitan Transportation Authority late into the night Thursday. The union is defending pensions and health care benefits as it seeks a fair share of the $1 billion surplus enjoyed by New York City's Metropolitan Transportation Authority. A strike would be illegal with the possibility of stiff fines and other sanctions. Late Thursday night it appeared that the union would temporarily stop the strike clock and bargain until Monday in hopes of reaching an agreement. Talks continued past the midnight strike deadline.

By Doug Cunningham

Brian McLaughlin, President of New York City's Central labor council is asking every union worker in the city to donate one dollar for a solidarity fund for transit workers The transit workers may strike Friday to defend pensions.

By Jesse Russell

Transit workers picketed throughout New York City on Tuesday, threatening to strike over contract demands. The Metropolitan Transportation Authority is calling on employees to take on new duties once their current contract expires on December 15. A major sticking point is the reduction of conductors on trains, a move Roger Toussaint, President of the Transport Workers Union local 100 said raises major security concerns:

[Toussaint]: We will never agree to that. Especially in the aftermath of September 11 and security needs. It is lunacy.

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg said at a press conference that he doesn't believe the workers will strike because it would be illegal. However the Daily News reported on Monday that the Mayor has been preparing a strike battle plan. Rev. Jesse Jackson spoke at one rally, telling the workers that if they stick together, they will win.

By Doug Cunningham

New York City's Transport Workers Union Local 100 is fighting to get to the bottom of health and safety issues, sparking conflicts with the Transit Authority. The latest is at Brownsville Brooklyn where workers are exposed to creosote - a carcinogenic wood preservative. TWU's John Samuelson says Mt. Sinai hospital is testing workers and the union has had to fight the Transit Authority every step of the way.

[John Samuelson 1] : "Transit Authority has been an impediment to us on every time we raise a safety or health concern with the New York City Transit Authority. They're the furthest thing from cooperative. They've wasted tax dollars and energy trying to impede our investigation into creosote effects on workers."

"Never The Same : The Untold Story of the Ground Zero Workers" is a short film by Jonathon Levin documenting the adverse health effects on September 11th workers from exposure to a toxic cloud that day. The worker compensation response has been inadequate to care for workers like Thomas Hickey of Ironworkers Local 40 in New York.

[Thomas Hickey] : "Headaches all day, every day I got headaches. I can't breath. I never had asthma, never had allergies like that."

Jimmy Willis of TWU Local 100 in New York.

[Jimmy Willis] : "As a result of my time spent at Ground Zero I've been diagnosed with gastrointestinal disorders and lifelong respiratory disease.

The EPA held a hearing Tuesday in New York to develop a new cleanup protocol for the deconstruction of Deutsche Bank in Manhattan. Transportation Workers Union Local 100's Frank Goldsmith is very concerned about exposure of workers and the public to asbestos and other contaminants at the site. Goldsmith says the owners of Deutsche Bank documented extensive contamination at the site while trying to collect on an insurance claim but tried to deny later that contaminants were such a big problem.

[Frank Goldsmith 1] : "So they had this actual claim they put in which showed all the contamination that was there and got maximum amount of money from their insurance company. When we turned around and used that same information to force EPA to make a good cleanup, they denied half the things were there."