No financial burden for two years

MTA 2011 Preliminary Budget July Financial Plan 2011 - 2014 was forwarded to the  board members with Jay H Walder’s letter on July 27, 2010 - the report has a ‘New Labor Initiative. Controlling wage and benefit costs have a critical role to play in stabilizing the MTA’s finances. After all, wages, fringe benefits and other personnel expenses account for two-thirds of the MTA operating expenses. This Financial Plan assumes that each new labor contract will not impose any additional financial burden on the MTA for two years. This is intended as a clear statement that the MTA can not afford to allow salary, wage and fringe benefit costs to rise in ways unconnected to productivity and the regional economy’s ability to support the system. This, however, does not preclude the possibility of wage increases based on bankable productivity improvements or contributions to benefit costs. Consistent with this “net zero” labor initiative, non-represented employees will not receive a cost of living rise in 2010, which will be the second of two consecutive years without an increase.

The New Efficiency Initiative and New Labor Initiative together are projected to generate savings in excess of $110 million in 2011 growing to more than $400 million in 2014.

It is obvious Jay H Walder has his goals and objectives set towards savings in excess of $110 million for 2011. However John Samuelsen president of TWU Local 100 is not working to spoil those ‘initiatives’ which only hurts members - no matter how you look at it he must answer the following questions. Why are Walder’s savings objectives are at the cost of the membership? Why is Samuelsen aiding Walder in accomplishing his objectives? One wonders why? The membership are a juicy, unprotected target for the MTA and TWU Local 100 under John Samuelsen with his TBOU leadership need to drop the impenetrable fortress act and help them raise the drawbridge.

The membership are being abused by petty and abusive supervisors however John Samuelsen with his buddies blame the membership instead of teaching the membership how to avoid or render those petty and abusive supervisors useless. The support from  John Samuelsen is way overdue. Samuelsen's standard method of responding to membership issues is to ignore them until they won't go away and then issue a response when the outcry gets too loud. That simply won't fly where membership job security is at stake. 

When we attempt to bring the issue of the membership to light we become a fascinating saga all our own. We are faced with massive backlash from John Samuelsen with his TBOU cronies who insist that there is no membership problem - or if there was, it paled in comparison with the job security nightmare that occurred in the previous administration (their words, not ours). 

From our perspective we say this approach represents a commitment to indecisive action that leaves the members hanging for a brief uncomfortable period, then ultimately results in a satisfactory outcome. From our perspective, it represents a commitment first and foremost to not admitting fault, canny observation of which way the members issues winds are blowing, and action only after outcry that has reached a sufficiently intolerable din.

But whatever the reasoning behind this silence-then-solution pattern - it won't work as a response to membership issues. Being on the sick control list, absenteeism, FMLA problems related to the privacy of members that should be fixed - John Samuelsen with his TBOU leadership have no supervisors head trophies - that reveals a lot of his leadership. However he is an expert at handling the union credit card for personal nature.

It is obvious the supervisors attacks are becoming ever more common and there's every reason to believe the membership will increasingly be a target. As long as John Samuelsen enjoys the prime steak at PJ Clarke’s we should be grateful - why shouldn't we be? After all, the membership are uniquely trained not to be aware of their basic rights, thanks to John Samuelsen with his TBOU team. Let's hope the contract of 2012 will eliminate any layoffs to come along which doesn't get such a helpful window of opportunity from Samuelsen. No one is immune from petty and abusive supervisors attacks - John Samuelsen with his TBOU need to take care of its members. Without its own support TBOU reps are having to act like anonymous whistleblowers to get the word out. Membership job security is a whole new game - it is John Samuelsen’s time to think differently in order to benefit the membership.