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TOUSSAINT POLITICKING

Toussaint Politicking

To the Editor:

Transport Workers' Union Local 100 President Roger Toussaint's letter in your June 16 edition is characteristic of one who is infused and suffused with the career politician's lust.

He states that the contract deal was "torpedoed" by Governor Pataki. The fact of the matter is that a majority of the voting members of Local 100 rejected it in January. At that point it was incumbent upon President Toussaint to roll up his sleeves and make a determined and sustained effort to renegotiate a contract. But he made an intermittent and half-hearted one while making statements to the effect that the vote was a virtual tie, which indicated that he had in mind a re-vote.

He goes on in his letter to express his fear of the arbitration process. But we have availed ourselves of this process with success on many occasions. Two recent noteworthy ones were the ruling that New York City Transit cannot run trains without the Conductor on the L line and that Transit cannot force those on Family and Medical Leave Act medical leave to use their vacation time. What this proves is that if our cause is just and we present it in an adroit and thorough manner, we can achieve our objectives through the arbitration process.

President Toussaint ascribed a villainous role to Governor Pataki in the contract negotiations because of the Governor's ambitions of being President, yet Roger himself was negotiating with his eyes on being re-elected. It is quite logical to assume that this played a prominent role in his negative statements about the arbitration process. If we get justice in meeting the needs of the workers by means of arbitration, this would cast a negative light upon the negotiating skills of President Toussaint and could damage his budding political career. That would open up the somber possibility that President Toussaint would return to being Track Worker Toussaint.

RICHARD LAURIE, Conductor, NYC Transit