Responds to Criticism
Toussaint: Had Deal Before Strike's End

By GINGER ADAMS OTIS

Responding to a rash of criticism about his handling of last December's transit strike, Transport Workers' Union Local 100 President Roger Toussaint last week disclosed that he had signed a deal with transit negotiators before he agreed to end the walkout.

BARRY ROBERTS: Opposed strike throughout.

Details of the December 22 accord signed by Mr. Toussaint and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority's chief negotiator, Gary Dellaverson, were published in the Daily News Nov. 13 - one week before ballots for upcoming union elections were mailed to members.

Criticized Tactics

Mr. Toussaint's challengers - among them the Rail and Bus United slate that looks to pose the biggest threat to his incumbency - had accused him of sacrificing his bargaining leverage by ending the strike without reaching a tentative deal with the MTA.

The two-page document released by Mr. Toussaint is an exact replica of the wage increases, holiday and retiree benefits, health-care contribution and other gains contained in the final deal that was subsequently rejected by union members, forcing the dispute into an ongoing arbitration. The memorandum of understanding was signed several hours before state mediators announced that the union had agreed to resume negotiations and end the walkout.

The Chief-Leader/Pat Arnow TRYING TO DEFUSE FOES' CHARGE: Transport Workers' Union Local 100 President Roger Toussaint, seen here during a debate with three of his four rivals for re-election Nov. 14, responded to criticism by some of his opponents that he blundered in ending last December's transit strike without a contract in hand by releasing a copy of the secret memorandum of understanding whose provisions were identical to what was announced five days after the walkout ended.

Mr. Toussaint said he kept the deal quiet to avoid interference from Governor Pataki, who on the second day of the strike had announced there would be no talks while transit workers remained on the picket lines.

"We were focused on protecting the pension refund that Governor Pataki could have vetoed," said Mr. Toussaint in a Nov. 17 phone call. "But as I said before, during and after the strike, Local 100 would protect its own."

The details of the deal were shown to the union's executive board members four days later in the form of a Memorandum of Understanding between Local 100 and the MTA.

Opponents' Positions

According to voting records obtained by The Chief-Leader, several of Mr. Toussaint's political foes voted against the strike, while others voted against returning to work Dec. 22 and against bringing the tentative contract terms offered by the MTA. Mr. Toussaint has claimed that his rivals cast ballots with an eye toward launching their own political careers within the union and not with the local's best interests in mind.

Barry Roberts, vice president of the Manhattan and Bronx Surface Transit Operating Authority and the presidential candidate on the Rail and Bus United slate, voted against going out on strike, and on the first day of the walkout sent a letter to Mr. Toussaint demanding that members be given the chance to vote on the MTA's final pre-strike offer. He later voted to bring workers back to their jobs Dec. 22, when Mr. Toussaint asked his board members to have faith that he'd gotten them a firm deal. He also voted in favor of bringing the membership the contract terms that wound up in arbitration.

Ainsley Stewart and William Pelletier, the presidential and recording secretary candidates on the Union Democracy slate, voted against going on strike. Mr. Pelletier voted against returning to work three days later, and for bringing the deal to the membership. Mr. Stewart abstained from voting on returning to work and voted against bringing terms to the members.

Strike Hard-Liner

The slate's recording-secretary candidate, John Mooney, voted for the strike, against returning to work, and against letting the membership vote on final contract terms.

Two other candidates for Local 100 president, Mike Carrube and Anthony Staley, are not on the union's board and did not participate in the strike-related votes.

The details of how and when Mr. Toussaint secured a written agreement for his striking members gained new relevance as Local 100's elections draw near. Ballots are to be returned Dec. 15.

The accusation that Mr. Toussaint had called off the strike without a deal in hand was one of many allegations lobbed by his challengers, some of whom have opposed his leadership for years.

Two weeks ago his main detractors on the executive board - Mr. Stewart, Mr. Mooney, Mr. Pelletier and Mr. Roberts - withdrew a lawsuit they had filed against him asking for more than $3 million in damages. The suit, which was dropped with prejudice, claimed that Mr. Toussaint's autocratic leadership style left elected vice presidents unable to do their jobs.

'Concealed Giveback'

The top candidates from Rail and Bus United, who based on nominating petition submissions are chief challengers to his re-election, criticized Mr. Toussaint's actions during the strike and were no less harsh about his assertion last week that he'd done right by his members.

"We were in the middle of a strike where the picket lines were holding strong, and Roger signed a deal with a tremendous 1.5-percent giveback," said John Samuelsen, the secretary-treasurer candidate for Rail and Bus United.

"Toussaint knew he would meet stiff opposition from the executive board on that deal, so he stood up and said 'trust me,' and then didn't reveal the details until days later when he knew a strike couldn't be reignited even if there was displeasure with the deal," Mr. Samuelsen charged.

Roberts Not Talking

This newspaper attempted to contact Mr. Roberts to speak with him about his vote against a strike and his demand after it began that members be allowed to vote on the MTA's pre-strike offer, but he did not respond.

Local 100's Secretary-Treasurer Ed Watt dismissed the claims made by Mr. Samuelsen, adding that the Rail and Bus slate had printed many flyers with false facts about the current union leadership.

"Rail and Bus United flyers have a tremendous amount of lies," he claimed.