TWU Activists Hold Nose On Subway Cleaner Cuts; Cite Deteriorating Conditions
By ARI PAUL
Trash is overflowing out of receptacles at the Spring St. station on the C/E line in lower Manhattan. Green, foul-smelling standing water remains at the Van Cortlandt terminal on the 1 line in The Bronx. It's a result, according to New York City Transit Conductor John Ferretti, of not enough station Cleaners and having some of the work go to staffers in the Rapid Transit Operations Division.

The Chief-Leader/Pat Arnow KEEPING THINGS CLEAN: Conductor John Ferretti, left, explains that while Transport Workers Union Local 100 reps have filed grievances about Train Operators and Conductors doing cleaning work, it should be more active in challenging out-of-title work. Joining him are Track Division Vice Chair Eric Josephson, center, and Station Agent Marty Goodman.

For decades, transit managers have asked — but not forced — Train Operators and Conductors to do cleaning work to pick up the slack, something Mr. Ferretti, a shop steward, claimed stole work from Cleaners and was part of an effort by management to do more work with a smaller workforce. He feared that with the Metropolitan Transportation Authority's budget deficit, workers would be expected in the future to do more out-of-title work.

Cutting Staff, Scraping WEP

The new MTA budget proposal, to be voted on in December, says it will eliminate 10 heavy-duty cleaning positions and that the "maintenance of the facilities will be done by existing RTO staff. RTO will also work with Stations to develop work programs that include the daily cleaning of these facilities, with existing station Cleaners."

The proposal would also do away with the Work Experience Program, which gave cleaning jobs to people on welfare.

"There are safety and health issues that need to be addressed," Mr. Ferretti said last week. "There's a big labor shortage in cleaning. That work needs to be done by somebody."

In a reaction to low scores for station cleanliness on rider surveys last year, the authority hired 250 more Cleaners, a move Local 100 hailed. But it's not enough, Mr. Ferretti said, noting that if the one Cleaner at the Van Cortlandt terminal — where he is based — took a day off, her work would have to be covered by a Train Operator or Conductor, or not covered at all.

Wants TWU More Involved

In an interview joined by Transport Workers Union Local 100 Track Division Vice Chairman Eric Josephson — his partner in publishing the Revolutionary Transit Worker newsletter — and Station Agent Marty Goodman, Mr. Ferretti noted that the issue has been grieved through both the union's Stations and RTO Divisions, but that the union has not taken further action.

"They need to be out in the field stopping this," Mr. Ferretti said.

He said he wanted other RTO workers to pressure the union into taking more action.

"We will be there to hold his feet to the fire," Mr. Ferretti said of Local 100 President Roger Toussaint.

Spokesman for Mr. Toussaint did not respond to requests for comment, but a union official earlier this year cited the addition of 250 Cleaners as progress.

Mr. Goodman noted that in addition to putting strain on workers, the current Cleaner shortage had an effect on service.

"It impacts on the ridership," he said. "It's an ongoing threat to rider safety."