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FELLOWSHIP OF THE ROG

Fellowship of the Rog

To the Editor:

Why do the fanatical supporters of Roger Toussaint constantly inject race into every equation? The topic at hand is track safety, but John McCarthy (May 25 letter) is obviously trying to throw the reader's attention elsewhere by making an issue of workers' ethnicities.

It is surprising that McCarthy has the nerve to talk about track safety. Recently, while he was Track Division's night safety man, McCarthy disappeared for a couple of weeks. He didn't inform track division's chair, nor did he inform his political boss, Roger Toussaint, of his absence.

In doing so, McCarthy seriously undermined our ability to perform unannounced safety inspections in the subway. He let the track committee down, but more importantly he let Local 100 members down.

McCarthy talks about Roger Toussaint's contribution to track safety in the 1990s. Without a doubt he contributed much. Roger Toussaint did lead the charge which put track safety back on the agenda. But that was then, this is now. Roger Toussaint the fighter has recast himself as Roger Toussaint the collaborator.

He is definitely not the same man he was just a few short years ago. If guys like McCarthy and Percival Thomas took their blinders off for a minute, they would see the destructiveness of Toussaint's behavior. In the immediate aftermath of two catastrophic Track Worker fatalities, Toussaint thought it appropriate to ban all of the Track Workers' elected representatives - including the Chairman of Track Division - from the boards of inquiry established to investigate these accidents.

Then he established a high-level joint labor/management task force to discuss changing the flagging rules, but failed to include any elected Track Division officers.

Then, again collaborating with management, Toussaint sent letters to senior bosses informing them that they shouldn't recognize a democratically elected Track Division shop steward who is a thorn in their side on track safety issues. Toussaint has now stooped so low that he is giving management the green light to go after shop stewards who disagree with his policies. In Toussaint's mind, anytime is a good time for cut-throat politics. Even in the midst of tragedy, Toussaint does not pass up an opportunity to squash dissent and attack those not loyal to him. Yet, in the eyes of John McCarthy and Percival Thomas, Roger Toussaint is Mr. Wonderful - the great democratist.

It is worth noting that both McCarthy and Thomas are paid handsomely for being attack dogs for Toussaint's political machine. The most recent LM2 reports McCarthy earned almost $18,000 last year from Local 100 and Thomas earned almost $14,000. Not bad, huh?

Support Toussaint blindly and supplement your income. And neither ever lifts a finger to fight management. Nice gig they have, isn't it?

CARLOS ALBERT, Track Division Chair, TWU Local 100