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Letters to the Editor: Missing Militant Toussaint

Letters to the Editor
Missing Militant Toussaint

To the Editor:

I recently attended a TWU Local 100 and New York City Transit joint track safety seminar. At this seminar my union president, Roger Toussaint, was explaining the recommendations of a focus group and showing charts and graphs on how to improve track safety. You would find it hard to find anyone who would not agree we need more track safety more than myself, a Signal Maintainer, one of the most dangerous jobs in NYC Transit. My complaint is about my once-militant President Toussaint.

During the seminar he kept saying, "We have a culture to change." I for one have worked very hard and have always fought for more safety incentives. Why does it seem like the majority of the conclusions seem to blame the workers? I am the division recording secretary of Line Equipment/Signals.

While this focus group and safety task force were established, I was never asked once for any input even though I asked for many of these rules that they now want to implement more than a year and a half ago.

Roger stood there side-by-side with management reading off all these recommendations, and even at one point yelling at a fellow brother who happened to close his eyes for a minute. When it was all over he received loud applause, not from his union members in attendance, but from the members of management in the three front rows.

Roger, before you implement any of these recommendations I ask you to please consult the members who work on the tracks and pay your salary, not management. Who do you work for?

JOHN CHIARELLO, Line Equipment Signals Division Recording Secretary (Elected)