Two Views of TWU Local 100 Leader:
Why Toussaint's Still Right Guy

By BRANDON L. WARD

I have been following the goings-on of TWU Local 100, particularly the upcoming elections, and find it quite disturbing. Granted, I am not a member of Local 100 and as such, some might argue that I lack an insider's view of the problems confronting the union.

Marked By Militance

I readily concede on both points. (Luckily for me, after carefully reading the numerous articles and letters to the editor of this paper, I can readily make the case that I know the biz, as they say.) However, I am not willing to budge on the question of Roger Toussaint being the best man to lead the TWU in these serious times. Period! Let's take a quick look back to December 2002. In the run-up to contract talks, a first-term president, Roger Toussaint, of the TWU Local 100 said to a neophyte Mayor Bloomberg, "Shut up!" A year ago, it was déj vu all over again; however, this time Roger Toussaint took things a step further and shut down the transit system for 60-hours. Strike!

Subsequently, the predicted things have happened: the union was fined; Toussaint was jailed for calling the strike; the venerable response of some tabloids was to "Throw Roger from the Train," and former comrades have broken rank with him. All this has forced into public the "factional scheming for power and status within a group." That is Webster's definition of politics, not mine.

In his last installment of "Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., At Canaan's Edge: America in the King Years, 1965-68," Taylor Branch tells how Dr. King stormed out of a planning meeting for his Poor People's March in fury at the attacks directed against him by some of his top aides, who wanted to scrap the march. The issue of uniting masses of poor people for economic uplift smacked of class war and was too risky and dangerous. They feared that it would hopelessly alienate their Democratic Party boosters.

King, unfazed by their criticism, hurled another broadside at them for their personal egoism, selfishness and opportunism. King's civil rights friends weren't the only ones that took shots at him. Many black ministers joined in the King-bashing.

Hence, what is organizational politics without backstabbing? In conjunction with this reality, unfortunately, I cannot ignore the "politics" of race in some unions' power struggle. For instance, when the leadership (like TWU and Local 375) racially reflects the membership's racial majority (black and brown peoples), whites have a problem being the minority.

In-House Jealousies

While it is not my intent to demean or insult Toussaint's challengers, the fact is, it would not be an overstatement to assert that his challengers have emerged from an outgrowth of in-house jealousies and not a deep-seated animus for the system. Evidence of this is clearly seen in the fact that they have mistakenly focused their criticisms on the management style of Mr. Toussaint rather than the mismanagement of the MTA.

In my mind, being the leader suggests one paradigm of modern management: the executive makes the final decisions and the tough calls. This means he listens to the opinions of trusted advisors before deciding to sell a building, strike or not strike, accept or reject a contract offer. In essence, the point of a leader is to make decisions (from decidere, "to cut off"). It is to be decisive, the decider-in-charge, not reason your way to a judgment that can be explained to everyone's satisfaction.

Strike's Intangible Gains

Undoubtedly, if Toussaint's critics are right about anything, it is that after the strike, the union, once the contract was voted down, ended up with no tangible pocketbook benefits - cash. However, when one critically considers the other pertinent issues raised by the strike, it is clear to this observer that the intangible benefits of the strike are the respect and dignity union workers received nationally and worldwide. And frankly speaking, considering the gravitas of the issues confronting TWU members, it is absurd to think that nothing is seemingly more offensive to some in the union than Toussaint's failure to secure a "perfect" contract agreement.

Of course, critics within and outside of the union have exploited this outcome for members who are legitimately outraged as the pretext to throw Roger from the union's leadership. Not surprisingly then, some have not only interpreted this as representative of Toussaint's inability to negotiate an acceptable contract with the MTA, but also evidence that he's a sellout. To be blunt, this is BS.

To begin with, the strike was illegal. More significantly, Toussaint's opponents have come to believe whatever they must believe when they must believe it. Apparently, some have adopted a faith-based approach to negotiations that requires us to believe in outcomes for which there is no scintilla of evidence.

Pie in the Sky

And for some strange reason, even the union's radicals have seemingly aborted their ability for critical reasoning in favor of untutored passion. So much so that they would have us believe that they would be able to get what they yearn for at the negotiating table. (I am pondering how this scenario plays out considering the forecasted MTA budget deficits in coming years).

Of course, this desire is universal. It is like the desire to eat a lot without getting fat, or taking a trip to Las Vegas with your pretty secretary without upsetting your wife. The fact is, prudent leadership calculates the risk based on principles of reason and logic.

Politically speaking, there's a stunning parallel between the legislative enactments by both houses of Congress to wage war in Iraq and the decision of TWU's executive board members to strike in 2005: they were for the strike before some were against the offer to end the strike.

I have intentionally avoided listing the inventory of failings, firings and gripes leveled by Toussaint's critics as to why he should not be re-elected. Truth be told, I am hard-pressed to find another union that has produced a more progressive leader in recent years than Roger Toussaint.

Can you? Lillian Roberts, the Executive Director of DC 37? Well, for endorsing Bloomberg's mayoral re-election she got a 10-percent raise (the equivalent of $89 per month) for her members and no concessions; In the process, however, Ms. Roberts, in effect, outsourced the job opportunities of her members to residents living outside the five boroughs by agreeing to remove longstanding residency requirements that provided an advantage for those currently living in the city.

Wrong Moment to Switch

It is my considered opinion that changing leadership at a time when the executive branch of state government is likely to change would be a strategic blunder for TWU. Furthermore, the failure of TWU Local 100 members to re-elect Roger Toussaint would represent a victory for Governor Pataki, Mayor Bloomberg, and Peter Kalikow, whose collective desire is to get what they yearn for at the TWU - leadership after their kind (politically speaking).

In this regard, there is no subtler way to stop the union that moves New York than for members of Local 100 to embrace new leadership that perhaps represents the classic anomalies: strong men who, at the negotiating table, are weak; radicals who are on the side of the MTA's management; militants who take the side of the status quo and consensus builders who are Uncle Toms (black men who are doing the white man's bidding). Fortunately, what we see is what we get from Roger Toussaint: a leader determined to do the right thing for his members.

Pataki's Paradox

Considering all the post-strike criticism, it is interesting to note that while Gov. Pataki has disagreed with his main man at the MTA, Peter Kalikow, for making a side agreement that calls for the MTA to pay the union members a pension refund worth $131.7 million, he found it necessary to re-appoint Mr. Kalikow in order for him to complete the work he has started.

Unfortunately, some in the union movement seem bent on cutting their collective nose in order to spite their face.

Hopefully, TWU members will vote their reason and not their untutored passion and re-elect Roger Toussaint, president-in-charge. The reason being, leadership matters.

Brandon L. Ward is president of the New York City Municipal Chapter of Blacks in Government, an employee advocacy group. He is a Mechanical Engineer with the Department of Transportation. He can be reached at brandonward@nycbig.com.