TWU Reverse Spin

To the Editor:

Contrary to Ed Watt's rantings (Nov. 17 letter), Rail and Bus United clearly had more support in the petitioning process than Toussaint's team. Ironically, the election monitor actually confirmed the authenticity of the very same signatures to which Ed Watt refers.

The election monitor also confirmed that Toussaint's team of union-paid loyalists submitted over 750 defective signatures, which were either duplicates or illegible. Some of Toussaint's duplicate signatures were actually outright forgeries, in that the same name and ID number were signed for twice in two different handwritings. She also confirmed that one of Roger Toussaint's closest associates, Jose Iglesias, lied about collecting a sheet of petition signatures. Coincidentally, Iglesias is paid over $100,000 of the members' dues money to perform such handiwork.

Looking past all the hype regarding the petitioning process, one thing remains abundantly clear: over 20,000 Local 100 members petitioned to get rid of Roger Toussaint and Ed Watt.

The overwhelming majority of transit workers recognize that these guys are ripping our union apart, instead of building it up. Transit workers want a leadership which will focus on advancing our union, not focus on advancing the public image of its president. The petitioning process proved this.

JOHN SAMUELSEN, Rail and Bus United

Editor's note: Mr. Samuelsen is running for secretary-treasurer of Transport Workers' Union Local 100.