Blue collar

It is strange that we the members of TWU Local 100 are not wearing the same uniform - we wonder why? In general those that claim solidarity wear the same uniform to represent equality among the labor. In addition it differentiates against the management. However we in the TWU Local 100 have some departments wearing different uniforms instead of the blue uniform. Also there is no clear or coherent explanation why that is from the union bosses.

You may notice some departments have different color uniforms. Maybe those union bosses are the problem - you can notice that at the union hall everyone has different  TWU Local 100 casual wear. Based on the above there is no solidarity. 

Financial control officer

It is said John E Samuelsen president of TWU Local 100 - Take Backward Our Union has had enough of his financial irregularities which has thrown the TWU Local 100 into a downward spiral. Based on that in the beginning of June 1, 2011 he has created a position of financial control officer who will devise and verify appropriate financial control policies. It is said he is still trying hard to name the position, whether its financial control officer, financial advisor or financial ombudsman. We say name him financial control officer, let his blue inked pen flow - that has consumed him since June 1, 2011. He believes the time is not right - the critical question remains when is a good time for John E Samuelsen.

The financial control officer will use a blue ink pen, as per John E Samuelsen that the financial control officer will review policies for other areas. It is said John E Samuelsen wants to safeguard the membership dues. Samuelsen believes that going after others is critical. That those who were before him must be pursued first then they have to pay first. As a result if they pay up then he can look at what went wrong since he took office. Sound contradicting? Yes it is. John E Samuelsen wants to throw TWU Local 100 into turmoil - then he can go around claiming the previous administration took monies that they don't want to pay up. He will use it as an excuse that his financial irregularities be forgiven or overlooked that is his way to put things right. 

John E Samuelsen believes he is smarter than the US President Barack H Obama’s principle of ‘looking forward as opposed to backwards’ investigating the crimes of the Bush administration. Samuelsen’s principle is to look backward rather than to look forward. He is so assured that the executive board members will rubber stamp this principle of looking backward. He believes he has the votes from the executive board - as a reward to those executive board members they would be issued blue inked pens so they can use them in signing their names in blue ink on their votes.

Frank Goldsmith

Frank Goldsmith is director of Occupational Health as per LM2 of 2010 he has earned 

(D)  Gross Salary  Disbursements  (before any  deductions)

(E)  Allowances Disbursed

(F)  Disbursements for Official Business

(G)  Other Disbursements not reported in  (D) thru (F)

(H)  TOTAL

Frank     Goldsmith Employee None

$73,899

$0

$1,549

$0

$75,448

It is widely known that he is not a member of TWU Local 100. It is strange that he earns this huge salary. It is time for Mr. Goldsmith to find employment elsewhere, membership dues are not for his pleasure - enough is enough.

Recently he provided an expert who read the instructions from the manual then billed TWU Local 100 $900.00 - reading a manual does not entitle anyone to get $900.00. It is obvious TWU Local 100 president John E Samuelsen - Take Backward Our Union - TBOU is taking the membership as fools by giving the membership dues to his buddies. However every book has its last page.

September 12, 2011

Bus Operator Marlene Bien-Aime was assaulted by Stengali Medina for advising her that no dogs are allowed in the bus - on Tuesday June 21, 2011

Docket: 035162 2011 BX

Date: Monday - September 12, 2011

Time: TBA (To Be Announced)

Location

The Bronx County Criminal Division is located at 215 East 161st Street  

Bronx, NY 10451 - Between Sherman & Sheridan

Public Transportation

Bus: Take the BX 6 or BX 13 to East 161st Street & Sheridan Avenue 

Take BX 1 to East 161st Street & Grand Concourse.

Train: Take the C, D or 4 train to Yankee Stadium/161 Street Station

That is the date the attacker of the bus operator Marlene Bien-Aime is suppose to appear in court. Now we here in why did you join the union demand that TWU Local 100 president John E Samuelsen - Take Backward Our Union - TBOU brings out all of the members who were assaulted while they were doing their work. Why? It is a three prong approach - the first approach which is the obvious one is to remind the judge or the jurors that it is an unacceptable behavior to assault members of TWU Local 100 while they are doing their work; the law has to come down on its might on Ms. Stengali Medina and she should not get a free pass. The second approach is to remind MTA to take a seriousness in safeguarding TWU Local 100 membership due to the fact we are in the contract year. The third approach is to educate the general public that assaulting a TWU Local 100 member is an unacceptable behavior that has consequences. 

It is now the time for those cronies of John E Samuelsen who get six figures to show up at the court in uniform blue shirts with navy pants and fill the court room to its capacity; they have to attend the hearing in its completion. However many will claim they do not have the uniforms which is a mockery to solidarity. They will also try to claim that they have very important appointments or they would just show their faces, then sneak away.

161

161 TWU Local 100 members from the station department who were laid off in 2010 have not been recalled - what is John E Samuelsen president of TWU Local 100 Take Backward Our Union - TBOU doing for them we wonder. Maybe since they are out of his sight they are out of his mind - so he can enjoy his vacation while they have to sweat out the summer without work.

We here in why did you join the union wish John E Samuelsen secures the recall for those 161 members - we do not know what he is waiting for. Maybe in John E Samuelsen’s mind that is not a pressing matter that may take long since he is the president of TWU Local 100 - Take Backward Our Union - TBOU. However we here in why did you join the union are not going to forget our 161 brethren - we are not going to accept any excuses. It is clear he cannot steer TWU Local 100 properly in a direction to get the 161 back to work. We will resist his deviations from the proper course till all of 161 are back on their jobs. There is no sense for John E Samuelsen to enjoy his vacation while our brethren of 161 are without jobs. We know of John E Samuelsen cronies that will come out of the wood work to defend him. They will say: first, that he has a right to his vacation second, he owes his family vacation time third, there is nothing he can do.

We here in why did you join the union say then that the solidarity is dead - it is a meaningless word that John E Samuelsen throws around whenever he feels like. In addition to his rhetoric ‘I am my brothers keeper’ now it is obvious that those are just empty rhetoric - we are getting nowhere. We are prepared to forget many of his bad decisions however we need action.

Jay H Walder

We here in why did you join the union do not agree with the New York Times article which stated ‘Governor Said to Have Irked Transit Leader Who Is Leaving’ on July 29, 2011. We believe Jay H Walder is like a spoiled rich kid who complains and leaves if he does not get his way. He had no vision for New York City or New York State and his big selling point that got him appointed as the MTA head was his willingness to kick the blue collar employees out of their jobs which as a result ruined their families’ livelihood.

Now this article clearly reveals how ungrateful he is to the New York State Governor Andrew M Cuomo. We here in why did you join the union are very happy that he is leaving and this article will not fade possibly Mr. Cuomo will not forget that - we love it. If Jay H Walder believes that Governor Cuomo owes him anything then he is wrong. Jay H Walder when he became the head of the MTA he did not make life easier for New Yorkers to get around. He slashed the services, he attacked the students by threatening the elimination of free rides for school kids and held their parents to pay up. He eliminated bus and train routes, cut late night service. New Yorkers felt paralyzed and no one liked it. The bottom line is he has done nothing good for the average New Yorker or the employees at the MTA - he was insensitive to both. ‘Mr. Walder was meeting the governor’s staff at the Capitol when Mr. Cuomo walked in. The governor greeted Mr. Walder, then promptly turned his attention to his chief of staff, Howard Glaser, with whom he spoke for several moments before departing, said two people familiar with the meeting’. If Jay H Walder felt slighted then maybe he should take a minute to reflect what the average New Yorker or the employees who have scorn and contempt about him felt - we believe what’s good for the goose is good for the gander.

If Jay H Walder came with a vision to enhance mass transportation to the benefit of New Yorkers or caring for the employees of the MTA then he would have been welcomed. However he will be remembered in history annals of New York City as a failure (just as the NY Mets under the Wilpons) who piggy back on the projects of others who had the gumption of hard work who made mass transportation a success story for New Yorkers. Obviously he is not Robert Moses - while the overall impact of many of Moses's projects continues to be debated, their sheer scale across the urban landscape is indisputable. The peak of Moses’s construction occurred during the economic duress of the Great Depression and despite that era’s woes, Moses’s projects were completed in a timely fashion. We believe the MTA may fare better with a leader who is sensitive to the needs of New Yorkers and its employees.

Is TWU Local 100 in good hands?

Any respectable organization has policies in the event that their Chief Executive Officer CEO is absent due to either a medical or personal reason. They plan ahead so that every one knows and there are no surprises. The biggest example would be when the Apple Corporation’s CEO Steve Jobs took medical leave, Tim Cook replaced him as the CEO. Now lets look at the smallest example - when a class room teacher is absent the New York City Department of Education knows exactly who is the substitute teacher so that the students are not left alone. Another example is when the bus operator comes to relieve the bus operator on the road the MTA knows ahead of time so that the customers can continue with their journey with minimal interruption. Those examples above demonstrate clear lines of authority which ensures continuity with minimal disruption coupled with smooth operation therefore the transition is made easier.

However TWU Local 100 with president John E Samuelsen Take Backward Our Union TBOU is on vacation without any clear lines of authority - if our president is absent then who is in charge? If president John E Samuelsen is sick then how long should the transition period be? Does John E Samuelsen’s vacation put TWU Local 100 power for grabs? One wonders for the day-to-day business and one supervisory for control purposes (since he was elected by the membership - 5549 votes out of 38,180 members as per LM2 of 2010). 

For TWU Local 100 John E Samuelsen presides over the executive board as well as the executive committee. Instead of these two roles being held by different people in our TWU Local 100 it is held by one. Those two roles usually ensure a distinction between management of the executive board and governing by the executive committee. This allows for clear lines of authority. The aim is to prevent a conflict of interest and too much power being concentrated in the hands of one person. That is the principle that a reasonable organization would follow but not in the case of TWU Local 100.

The rumors are flying that Shannon Poland is John E Samuelsen’s designee or a proxy to run the day to day business of TWU Local 100 but the question remains - is TWU Local 100 in good hands?