Jay H Walder 2

Dear Candidates for the New York State Governor 

Before you begin your first day in the office we write as members of the blue collar workers from the main street and we wish you consider our view point. Our view as average New Yorkers of the MTA CEO and chairman Jay H Walder is that he should no longer hold his position of leadership and we are looking for change.

Anyone who aspires to hold a position in office wants to do good and help, especially if they are holding a position in the public office and the tax payers are their boss. That person is required to offer their best to serve the public without any hinderance. However not in the case of the MTA CEO and chairman Jay H Walder. 

His policies were aimed at hurting the general public in the name and guise of cost saving. He has not increased service, and he has not enhanced any service. Also he has not brought new equipment or created new jobs for average New Yorkers but for his buddies from England at no bidding contract of $200 an hour with expenses paid.

We in the main street believe it is time to have new leadership at the MTA in January. We suggest his golden sendoff package be tied in court and challenged based on the theory that he did not improve service or productivity.

Jay H Walder 1

Dear Candidates for the New York State Governor 

Before you begin your first day in the office we write as members of the blue collar workers from the main street and we wish you to consider our view point. Our view as average New Yorkers of the MTA CEO and chairman Jay H Walder corresponds with that of the Nassau County Executive.

We would like to remind you that the Nassau County Executive Edward Mangano believes in the removal of Jay H Walder. Since labor day, “Taxpayers deserve accountability, and for that reason, I am calling on our gubernatorial candidates to pledge new leadership at the MTA in January.” Mangano Said. “This Labor Day, families sat around the barbecue worrying about how to afford to get to work because of Walder’s mismanagement,” he said. “Earning a $350,000 salary plus a generous housing allowance, Walder has taken taxpayers for a ride.”

Many other elected officials have opined the same about Walder, and we find his tenure full of malice and hostility towards the average New Yorker. 

• He has raised the fares which will take effect January 2011. Thus that would reflect negatively on the new governor.
• Select Bus Service along 1st and 2nd Avenues in Manhattan, the bus stops are confusing to distinguish between a local bus stop from the select bus station and are not separate in addition the outside metro card vending machine does not accept credit cards or sell metro cards.

Labor shortage

A recent article in The Wall Street Journal was about the severe labor shortage of skilled craftsmen. The article points out that firms attempt to deal with excess demand pressures in a variety of ways but without raising wages. However wages will eventually rise in the face of a labor shortage as the supply and demand shows. Firms often respond to changing market conditions rather slowly which looks exactly like what our employer is doing.

The article states that although much attention has been focused on the growing scarcity of service workers for restaurants, hotels and stores there is a far more serious labor shortage emerging for skilled blue collar craftsmen ranging from machinists, electricians, shipbuilders and bricklayers. However one wonders why there is a shortage of those while the navy is buying tons of ships and there are tons of new buildings going up.

Companies use different tactics which we would call bait and switch because they simply want cheap labor. Some companies laid off 97 employees, but offered jobs to 30 of the workers and in the end eventually hired only two. 

Another company extended its work week to 55 hours from the usual 40. The company also offered new recruits a ‘up to’ $1,500 ‘hiring bonus’ while neglecting its long time employees’ pay increases. The company admitted that it was part of the additional costs of training and must be shared by the long time employees which is nonsense.

Given the scarcity of labor one would think that the wages of skilled craftsmen would have risen sharply as companies competed for labor. However such has not been the case, a well known labor economist opined ‘what were seeing is the legacy of last economic recession and on going pressure of foreign competition’. It is ridiculous he says that a number of companies decided to operate shorthanded or institute mandatory overtime rather than raise wages on the hope that the labor shortage would prove to be temporary. This is what is happening to us because of our employer.

A company couldn’t get anyone to answer its ads for minimum wage, so it raised its pay to $1 above the minimum wage. Then it kept raising the wage till it was $3 above the minimum wage. This scenario to some degree resembles our employer’s behavior of wanting cheap labor.

Why wages aren’t keeping up with productivity

Several recent magazine and newspaper articles have explored that since World War II, sustained and substantial productivity increases are not being shared with workers in the form of higher wages. Instead the financial gains are going towards bolstering corporate profits or towards paying for cost saving capital investment which is exactly what our boss is doing currently.

Productivity gains lead to higher wages for workers in two ways. First is higher productivity means lower unit costs of production and eventually lower prices for the consumer. Here our employer is raising the fares in January 2011 which is opposite of that governing principle. The second is productivity gains also result in higher corporate profit. Our boss is laying off blue collar workers without justification and this is not the way to move forward. It is clear now the two candidates for governorship have indicated their interest to tear up our employer and probably make it a state agency answering directly to the governor. We the blue collar workers see no problem with that and we will not surrender our rights. We are glad to see those two candidates appear to indicate that our boss is fair game and he will get the boot. This would be poetic justice let him feel what the layoff members felt even though he has a golden sendoff package.

Our boss is intransigent for redistributing the monies from capital to the labor-operational side. His service reductions created hostility with the general public. Especially when the general public is reducing their reliance of their personal vehicles in huge number due to the cost of gas, tolls, insurance and upkeep of the vehicles while at the same time there is an increase of ridership with the demand for reliable mass public transportation. Instead our boss aims to turn a world premier transportation system to a third world transportation status. The candidates for the governorship are within their rights to seek his removal if elected and we second their views.

Since we are operating normally and we are not bankrupt then why is there a gap in the operating budget? Going after the blue collar workers was wrong and was caused by mismanagement. Our boss’ service reduction and antics have created political impact which the candidates cannot overlook if they want to get elected.

We here in why did you join the union wonder why there are no generous wages since there have been gains in productivity?

2%

2 percent increase (effective October 16, 2010) this has been on the minds of the membership since we have an upcoming pay period and they are wondering whether this increase will be there.

The simple answer is it should be. However when we are dealing with our employer who has a history of giving or paying out the increases in a retroactive manner there should be no surprise to see the 2% increase missing.

Samuelsen should look into this matter especially since it would benefit the membership  and assure them that it would not be delayed for some strange reasons by our employer and he should encourage the employer to meet its obligation towards the membership. Remind the employer of the Collective Bargaining Agreement between NYCTA, OA and TWU Local 100 under section 1.17 - Implementation of Arbitral Awards ...the Authorities shall comply with and effectuate the provisions of such awards forthwith...

Members of Local 100 are the motivated, loyal, obedient and the best hard working workforce in the country with the least absenteeism. They have met every productivity benchmark set up and they help to move New York. This increase is necessary and they have earned it due to the sweat of hard working men and women of Local 100 and they are entitled to it forthwith.

Members of Local 100 have accepted this 2% piece meal increase while others have had unimaginable bonus’s lavished onto them. We here in the why did you join the union salute and applaud the honorable members who give their best all the time. We move New York, we also share the USPS creed ‘We are mothers and fathers. And sons and daughters. Who every day go about our lives with duty, honor and pride. And neither snow, nor rain, nor heat, nor gloom of night, nor the winds of change, nor a nation challenged, will stay us from the swift completion of our appointed rounds. Ever.’ 

Affirm

Good riddance, finally the executive board has found Israel Rivera Jr guilty on all charges. Therefore Israel Rivera Jr has been removed from office of secretary treasurer. It is a good day for Local 100 and a new beginning in moving forward.

We here in why did you join the union appreciate and affirm the common sense decision in rejecting corruption after a long exhaustive week. Now the file with its decision must be forwarded to the Manhattan or Bronx District Attorney in addition to filling a complaint.

Now the other side of the equation is the vacated position of the secretary treasurer must be filled immediately to remove doubt and also to make a seamless transition for the new secretary treasurer.

Paralysis by analysis

It is a lofty goal to have a fair trial for Israel Rivera Jr and good intentions from the executive board members. However it creates an impression of incompetency, by dragging it out and it fuels the fire that the executive board members are protecting Israel Rivera Jr among the general membership and it creates doubt where there is none. Whether prolonging this trial is worth the sour taste the executive board members leave among the general membership and whether this let it ride attitude is healthy for our Local 100 we need to move on. There has to be a finality and the folder must be handed to Manhattan or Bronx District Attorney.

Executive board members can not have a laissez-faire attitude. The general membership is watching and observing, and it is up to those executive board members to do their duty swiftly. This inaction is not healthy for our Local 100 when other pressing issues need the attention of those executive board members.

We would like to take this opportunity to remind those executive board members of the New York State Labor Law  Section 725  subsection 1.....Any member of such labor organization shall have the right to bring such action or proceeding if (a) after request by any member that such action or proceeding be brought, such organization shall fail to do so, or (b) such request would be futile, or (c) such organization has failed to prosecute diligently any such action or proceeding which it has brought.

Whether this carry on rises to the level of failure that which is mentioned in the subsection (c) in addition it gives the impression that we are unable to clean up the sleaze or run a clean ship. An organization as TWU Local 100 does not need to convey a message that we are troubled, dirty and rotten directly or indirectly whether intentionally or not at this precarious moment in the labor movement.

Executive board members must act expeditiously and energetically and resolve this trial. If in the event the executive board members want to be idle and inactive then we recommend that the trail should be open to the general membership. We recommend to the executive board to make a clean break and stop wasting time. Israel Rivera Jr has to be removed from the position of the secretary treasurer, disqualified from the membership of the TWU Local 100 and forward the file to the Manhattan or Bronx District Attorneys as soon as possible.

TWU Local 100 must convey the image that we are a clean organization and no thieves will be tolerated or accepted to be members.