NYC TWU 100 Transit union leader Roger Toussaint & Co. suffer a series of defeats
NYC TWU 100 Transit union leader Roger Toussaint & Co. suffer a series of defeats
http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/2009/06/25/2009-06-25_toussaint__co_facing_a_rail_big_challenge_at_twu.html
Transit union leader Roger Toussaint & Co. suffer a series of defeats
BY PETE DONOHUE
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER
Thursday, June 25th 2009, 4:00 AM
Transit union leader Roger Toussaint, who led the 2005 Christmastime strike that crippled the bus and subway system, has lost his ironclad grip on Transport Workers Union Local 100.
A faction of Toussaint loyalists suffered a series of stunning defeats Monday when ballots for delegates to the international's convention were counted.
The loyalist "United Invincible" faction won dozens of uncontested races - but lost about 40 of 67 of the head-to-head contests against the anti-Toussaint "Take Back Our Union" camp, sources said Tuesday.
That doesn't bode well for Toussaint and his handpicked successor, acting Local 100 President Curtis Tate, who heads the United Invincible slate.
Toussaint stepped down after taking a promotion to the international organization.
Ballots for president, secretary-treasurer and other Local 100 leadership posts were mailed out this month but haven't been counted.
"If I was a betting man, I'd say John (Samuelsen) is going to win," J.P. Patafio, a high-ranking union official, said of the Take Back Our Union presidential candidate.
Samuelsen's campaign has claimed Toussaint, Tate and the current union administration have been too accommodating toMetropolitan Transportation Authority management since the strike. Toussaint and Tate have said they've won safety and other improvements through cooperation after the walkout.
A Tate spokesman declined to comment. The union hasn't officially released the results of the delegates' races.
Ballots for delegate seats and local leadership posts were mailed out this month to transit workers.
The American Arbitration Association will not count the presidential race ballots until December under an unusual schedule adopted by the union's executive board, which said combining some aspects of two elections would save money.
pdonohue@nydailynews.com