Author Archive
TWU Pres. Samuelsen Blasts Columbia University for Failing to Protect Workers
Posted OnMay 7, 2024 byTWU members were working as Custodians and Security Officers in a Columbia University building in NYC when protesters stormed and occupied the building on April 30. The university epically failed to protect them, TWU International President John Samuelsen said in scathing letter to the university president, adding the union is exploring legal action against Columbia and the building occupiers.Read More…
Do You Want to Be a Crash Test Dummy?
Posted OnApril 3, 2024 byTWU International Administrative Vice President Curtis Tate criticizes a NYC plan to test Autonomous Vehicles in this opinion piece published in The New York Daily News. Tate also details why buses always need human Bus Operators.Read More…
Massive Breakthrough for Trackworker Safety
Posted OnMarch 23, 2024 byThe federal government for the first time is proposing minimum safety standards to protect trackworkers from on-the-job injuries and deaths – a move The Transport Workers Union has advocated for over many years.Read More…
TWU Local 555 Ratifies Industry Leading Contract
Posted OnMarch 21, 2024 byThe TWU’s approximately 19,500 ground workers at Southwest Airlines have a new contract with industry-leading wage rates and other valuable provisions that advance their livelihoods and economic security. Local 555 members approved the collective bargaining agreement 78% to 22%.
“This is a good day for our hardworking members at Southwest,” Transport Workers Union Executive Vice President Alex Garcia said. “This contract between The TWU and Southwest provides best in-the industry wages, bonus payments and other significant economic gains. It’s an excellent well-deserved agreement.”Read More…
Statement on Cancelled JetBlue-Spirit airlines’ merger
Posted OnMarch 4, 2024 byThe Transport Workers Union of America issued the following statement on the announcement that Jet Blue and Spirit airlines will no longer pursue a merger.
Our main concern throughout this process was protecting and advancing the livelihoods of our members. We achieved those goals. For our JetBlue Inflight Crewmembers, we secured 17% mid-contract raises, millions of dollars in potential bonus payments, and more.
Battle in Boston
Posted OnFebruary 29, 2024 byThe TWU fired a shot across the bow of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, and its hired-gun commuter rail operator, the French conglomerate, Keolis. TWU Local 2054 in Boston warned of possible strike as Keolis pays the lowest wages of passenger rail providers in the Northeast.
“France would not tolerate an American company degrading French workers’ wages and working conditions like this,” TWU International President John Samuelsen said. “The TWU will fight like hell to stop Keolis from doing it in Boston.”Read More…
TWU International President Samueslen Blasts NY Gov. Kathy Hochul
Posted OnFebruary 29, 2024 byNY Gov. Kathy Hochul and her MTA have hit TWU members at the Metro-North Railroad with a litany of heavy-handed contract demands that will cause real economic harm on the blue-collar workforce.
TWU International President blasts Hochul for her treatment of TWU Local 2001 and 2055 members in this editorial published in the NY Daily News.Read More…
STOPPING AVs FROM REPLACING BUS OPERATORS, MECHANICS, AND OTHER TRANSIT WORKERS
Posted OnFebruary 23, 2024 byAs automated cars and shuttles proliferate, The TWU has drawn a line in the sand and is taking steps to protect Bus Operators and other workers from being replaced someday by autonomous vehicle technology.
The Transport Workers Union’s Technology Task Force recently secured first-of-its kind contract language with a public transportation agency in Ohio giving the union veto power over the deployment of autonomous vehicles. The contract also says Bus Operators and Mechanics cannot be laid off, or have their wages reduced, because of new or modified technology.
The collective bargaining agreement – with the Central Ohio Transit Authority – is part of TWU’s national strategy against job killing technology. It will now serve as a template for the TWU as it negotiates new contracts in cities across the United StatesRead More…
TWU vs. NY Gov. Hochul – Round 2
Posted OnFebruary 22, 2024 byHundreds of hardworking union workers at the Metro-North Railroad are again being attacked by the Hochul-controlled MTA. The NY authority wants to impose a litany of contract changes that will significantly reduce workers income, job security, and retirement security.
“It’s a brutal attack on blue-collar workers,” TWU International President John Samuelsen said, vowing a fierce fightback campaign,Read More…
Senate Makes Progress on Pro-Worker FAA Bill, More to Come
Posted OnFebruary 8, 2024 byTWU International President John Samuelsen said the markup is a “great development” but the House and Senate “must seal the deal and pass final legislation.”
“Our front-line airline flight attendants and boots-on-the ground mechanics have been waiting far too long for Congress to adopt critically important measures needed to address long-standing problems – like unhinged passengers attacking and abusing crewmembers, and greedy airline executives sending aircraft to questionable repair shops in China, and other low-wage countries, for maintenance and repairs.”Read More…