TWU HQ Sale Won't Head Off Cuts in Staff; $60M Proceeds Will Go to New Locale, Modernizing

TWU HQ Sale Won't Head Off Cuts in Staff;
$60M Proceeds Will Go to New Locale, Modernizing

The hefty $60 million price Transport Workers' Union Local 100 commanded for its headquarters at West End Avenue won't stave off the need for further staff reductions and cost-cutting measures to pay off its $2.5 million transit strike fine, union leaders said June 16.

ED WATT: Windfall won't blow away cuts. Most of the proceeds from Local 100's June 8 building sale will go toward shoring up its shaky finances and securing its future as a powerhouse union, Secretary-Treasurer Ed Watt said June 16.

Cutting Pay and Jobs

Only a week before closing the deal, Local 100 announced it was reducing staff and implementing a 10-percent pay cut from the top down to offset its monthly $208,333 payment to the city.

The payments are part of a settlement reached with Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Theodore Jones, who gave the union a year to cover its Taylor Law fine for striking last December before stripping Local 100 of its automatic dues check-off rights.

"It would not be advisable to live off the sale of the building," said Mr. Watt. "The union should not burn the furniture. The money from this sale has long been designated by the executive board to search out a new building and modernize the union."

Local 100 has a five-year lease to stay in its six-story building off West End Ave., although a union source said it had to pay the buyer, R&R Associates, two years' rent up front.

Investment Plans

The union plans to pay off the $17 million mortgage it still carries, invest $34 million and put another $6 million in Local 100's general fund.

Some executive board members who have opposed the leadership of Local 100 President Roger Toussaint questioned the need to continue soliciting donations from union members, particularly retirees on fixed incomes. Mr. Watt said all donations were made voluntarily. He noted that the union still faces potential cash-flow problems as it tries to find spacious but more-affordable headquarters for members. The prospective loss of dues check-off rights will also hurt the union's bottom line, he added.

"The money from the sale will enable the union to relocate and have capital for the future," he stressed. "There are capital budgets and operating budgets, and they shouldn't be confused."