3,000 NYC TWU 100 Workers and Transit Supports Rally And Speak Out Against Attacks "Hell no, Mr. Walder."
3,000 NYC TWU 100 Workers and Transit Supports Rally And Speak Out Against Attacks "Hell no, Mr. Walder."
http://www.twulocal100.org/node/3743
Outside MTA Public Hearings, The Union’s Voice Rings Out
A powerful rally on March 4 put over 3,000 TWU Local 100 members in the streets outside the MTA’s Manhattan Public Hearing at FIT. We were joined by a large contingent of high school and college students, vociferously protesting the MTA’s planned elimination of student metrocards. TWU Local 100 got strong support from allies in the union movement and government, including New York State AFL-CIO President Denis Hughes, PBA President Pat Lynch, RWDSU President Stuart Appelbaum, the UFT's Michael Mandel, DC 37’s Oliver Gray, Teamsters Local 237's Gregory Floyd, and Public Advocate Bill DiBlasio, to name a few. (Watch this page for videos, coming soon.)
President John Samuelsen trenchantly criticized MTA cuts as blatant disregard of workers and the needs of citizens. He called upon members to speak in a single voice: "Hell no, Mr. Walder. We will fight your attempts to steal our jobs; we will fight your attacks on our students; you will not destroy our transit system."
Mandel questioned the contradictions in the MTA’s budget priorities, seeking congestion pricing tolls on the one hand, while cutting service on the other. Pat Lynch spoke of his father’s longtime membership in TWU Local 100 and demanded that the fat cats on Wall Street surrender their raises and perks before working families face firings and pay cuts.
Local 100 is working a multi-pronged strategy to win additional funding streams for the MTA in Washington, Albany, and here at City Hall. But your turning out in the first major rally under Local 100’s new leadership team is an essential ingredient. The time is now. Your participation does make a difference.