Transit Workers Divided On Impact of Dues Loss; Some Say Union Still Did Job

Dues check-off is being reinstated this week for Transport Workers Union Local 100 members at New York City Transit, but the nearly 18 months of self-collection has left several fractures in the union.

ROGER TOUSSAINT: Retains support in field.

After Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Bruce Balter reinstated the privilege Nov. 10, citing union President Roger Toussaint's affidavit stating Local 100 had no intention of leading another strike, union attorney Walter T. Meginiss said that Local 100 needed the money.

Department of Labor records show that with less than half of the affected membership fully self-paying dues in 2007, the union operated at a $5.5-million loss.

Bus Workers Keep the Faith

Dues check-off will give Mr. Toussaint the cash-flow to operate the union, but even with the change, many members who haven't stayed current will still be in bad standing and unable to vote. And many sources have said that higher percentages of members in the two NYC Transit bus companies are fully paid than in the ranks of the subway divisions.

The Chief-Leader/Michael O'Kane A WORKING UNION DESPITE PROBLEMS: Bronx-based Bus Maintainer Matthew Galcik believed Transport Workers Union Local 100 members at NYC Transit's two bus companies were better about paying dues while check-off was revoked than subway members because bus workers believed they had proper union representation.

Some of this reflects a political division between NYC Transit bus members, who are largely in support of Mr. Toussaint's administration, and subway workers, among whom feelings are mixed. The union's Maintenance of Way Division stands out as a hotbed of anti-Toussaint opposition.

Bus Operator Ray Reyes, who is based at the 126th St. Depot in Manhattan, said that he paid dues in full and on time in part because union reps were properly defending him in a disciplinary action that management was aggressively pursuing. Mr. Reyes also didn't agree with those who withheld dues as a form of protest. "I have no personal problems with Toussaint," he said. "I know a lot of people don't like his leadership, but to be honest with you, there's really nobody stepping up that you can choose from."

Many TA Surface members believed that the court's order last year that the union swear off striking in order to get dues check reinstated wasn't too much to ask Local 100, given the union's need for cash. Mr. Toussaint stopped short of such a pledge, finally saying that the union had "no intention" of engaging in more illegal work stoppages.

'Strike a Waste of Time'

Mr. Reyes believed that it was a moot point.

"I don't think they will go on strike again," he said, explaining that the three-day strike of 2005 didn't gain anything for workers except for financial penalties. "It was just a waste of time."

Grand Ave.-based Bus Operator Wayne Davis disagreed, saying that the strike was successful because the union was able to extend medical benefits to retirees and that the arbitration award prevented NYC Transit from doing more outsourcing.

On top of that, Mr. Davis believed that even without dues check-off, the union was able to represent its members properly.

"There's some misinformed people who believe that they're not being represented, most likely because they tend to listen to other people who are bitter, or they just don't pay attention to the big picture," he said.

For Mr. Davis, the strike was worth losing dues check-off for nearly 18 months.

'Got What We Wanted'

"We basically got everything that we wanted," he said.

Bus Maintainer Matthew Galcik, a TA Surface member based at the Zerega Ave. facility in The Bronx, has long complained that his co-workers get skipped over for seniority in favor of the Manhattan and Bronx Surface Transit Operating Authority workers in the same shop. Despite that, there has been a détente between union reps and management at his shop in terms of discipline that kept most members feeling adequately represented.

"The management works things out with the union," he said. "When they have troubles, they talk it out and work things through."

Until recently, Mr. Galcik had been a supporter of Mr. Toussaint, arguing last year that the union president was a dedicated worker advocate, but the union's inability to resolve the seniority disparity between the two divisions at Zerega has been such a large concern for him that his mood towards the Local 100 leader has soured. Nonetheless, Mr. Galcik paid his dues because he looked at the union as a whole.

"Even though my seniority at Zerega is being violated every day by the guys I struck for, I still pay my dues," he said.

Lost Safety Reps

This doesn't mean there haven't been cutbacks in service to members. The union laid off two safety directors, citing the fiscal problems as a result of the loss of dues check-off.

Many Maintenance of Way workers complain they lack proper representation, partly because nearly all of the Local 100 officers elected on the opposition Rail and Bus slate have been removed from office or taken off release time, with their duties given instead to staff reps. Track Inspector John Samuelsen, a likely presidential candidate in the local's 2009 election, said that many MoW members don't pay dues because of gaps in representation.

"It's a little bit more militant in trains," Mr. Galcik said.

Some dissident Local 100 Stations Division members have complained about a lack of representation, especially among Cleaners, as the union's officer vacancies representing that title have remained unfilled, they claimed. In fact, Cleaner Anthony Staley encouraged members not to pay dues as a form of protest against the Local 100 administration.

And the union has not formally credentialed any new shop stewards for its RTO division in more than a year. Earlier this year, Conductor James Mitchell said that he had to seek an outside attorney to represent him in a disciplinary case because he was behind in his dues — not because he didn't want to pay, but because a medical condition that was challenged by management cost him so much in wages and unreimbursed doctor bills that full dues payments became impossible.

But a Train Operator on the 5 line, who spoke conditioned on anonymity, didn't think union representation suffered in the last year. "I haven't had any problems, so I couldn't tell if the union was able to serve me or not," he said, adding that he continued to pay his dues in order to "have something legal to say that they have to represent me."