Union: Transit Mgr. Slurred Immigrants

Demand Discipline

Union: Transit Mgr. Slurred Immigrants 

By GINGER ADAMS OTIS

A group of civil service engineers who work for New York City Transit have accused a supervisor of making derogatory remarks about immigrants at a union meeting.

BEHROUZ FATHI: Stunned by disrespect. The delegate body of the Civil Service Technical Guild, Local 375 of District Council 37, voted in favor of a resolution Nov. 17 demanding that NYC Transit President Lawrence Reuter take disciplinary action against the supervisor.

'Stigmatizes Immigrants'

"Resolved that [the delegate body] condemns the recent remarks of Frederick E. Smith [ ... ] that demean all of our brothers and sisters in Transit, but particularly stigmatize those of use who are immigrants to the United States," the unanimously passed resolution reads.

Mr. Smith has denied making the remarks attributed to him, saying his comments merely emphasized the opportunities NYC Transit offered the employees.

NYC Transit spokesman Charles Seaton said the incident was being investigated. There are no plans to transfer Mr. Smith at this time, he added.

Claude Fort, president of Local 375, said that when he met with management to discuss Mr. Smith's comments, officials downplayed the matter.

CLAUDE FORT: `May be a deeper problem.' "Instead of acknowledging the remarks, they were dismissing them, saying it was all a simple misunderstanding, or that we had misinterpreted the meaning," said Mr. Fort. "They really didn't take it seriously, which leads me to believe there may be a need for more training among other NYC Transit managers as well. This could be a deeper problem."

Mr. Smith's alleged statements were linked to a dispute over photographs of Local 375's civil engineers who work for the agency.

Behrouz Fathi, president of Local 375's NYC Transit chapter, said the newly transferred manager claimed to have trouble "keeping the names and faces" of the employees straight.

'Wasn't Necessary'

"He said he wanted to get to know us better, and so proposed having each one of us take a digital picture that he could keep," said Mr. Fathi. "We said, 'If you want to get to know us, come and walk around the floor.' We've already provided pictures for our personnel files and didn't feel that we had to submit to more photographs."

Mr. Fathi and two other union officials met with Mr. Smith to discuss the conflict Oct. 7. Accompanying Mr. Fathi were Michelle Keller, second vice president of Local 375, and George Lawrence, the local's executive chair. Mr. Smith brought a manager from his division, Collette Ericsson, and NYC Transit's Director of Labor Relations, Judith Buckley. According to Mr. Fathi, the discussion quickly moved from digital pictures to what he called "longstanding" union problems with NYC Transit. "I asked him to consider the low morale, lack of promotional opportunities and stagnant salaries that my members have to deal with," said Mr. Fathi. "And that's when he said 'many of the staffers could not be paid or recognized in their home countries as they are here.' And then he said they 'should be kissing the ground, with the opportunities they are receiving.'''

Shaken by Remarks

Mr. Fathi said the union officials didn't immediately react to Mr. Smith's remarks, although all three were jarred by the comments. They met the next day and looked over the notes taken by Ms. Keller.

"We wanted to be sure of what we'd heard," said Mr. Fathi, who says approximately 60 percent of his 1,200 members in the Guild's Transit chapter are foreign-born, with the majority of Southeast Asian descent.

Both Mr. Fort and Mr. Fathi said they subsequently met with NYC Transit officials who, while not denying Mr. Smith's remarks, sought to minimize their importance.

Mr. Smith issued a memo Nov. 14 to Local 375 employees stating that a newsletter being circulated "misquotes and misrepresents" remarks he made in October.

"At this October meeting, I stated that I believed NYC Transit was a great place for all individuals to work in that it allows numerous avenues for advancement," he wrote. "My comments at the meeting were related to the fact that I believe that NYC Transit is an employer with good advancement opportunities, secure jobs and excellent benefits overall. I can assure you that I have made no disparaging comments about any group and would not do so under any circumstances."

A meeting between Mr. Fort and President Reuter scheduled for Nov. 18 was cancelled, said Mr. Fathi, after the union's lawyer sent NYC Transit a letter asking that Mr. Smith be transferred. Mr. Fort said the union will continue to press for the transfer and is filing a complaint with the agency's Office of Equal Employment Opportunities.