State AFL-CIO Head: TWU Strike Judge Wrong Choice

DENIS HUGHES: Jones showed bias in TWU case.

State AFL-CIO President Denis Hughes has urged Governor Paterson not to appoint Court of Appeals Associate Judge Theodore T. Jones to head the state's highest court, based on what he said was an excessive punishment imposed by the then-Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice for Transport Workers Union Local 100's threeday strike in 2005.

Judge Jones is one of seven candidates submitted by the state Commission on Judicial Nomination to succeed Judith S. Kaye, who stepped down at the end of 2008 after reaching the maximum age of 70. It has been speculated that he is one of the candidates being most seriously considered by the Governor, who is required to make a decision by Jan. 15.

Jailed Toussaint, Hit TWU Hard

As a result of Local 100's strike that violated the state's Taylor Law, Justice Jones briefly jailed President Roger Toussaint, fined the union $2.5 million and revoked dues check-off for a minimum of three months. The union wound up without check-off for more than 17 months, which financially crippled Local 100 and fueled political infighting.

In his letter to the Governor, Mr. Hughes said he was concerned about the manner in which then-Justice Jones had applied his "considerable discretion" in meting out Taylor Law penalties for the strike.

"It seems to me and many other union leaders that there was a marked one-sidedness and subjectivity— if not a frankly punitive aspect— to Judge Jones' treatment of Local 100 TWU," he wrote. "Other striking unions, such as the [Amalgamated Transit Union] locals, received 30-day dues forfeiture for exactly the same violation of the Taylor Law. But Local 100 received an indefinite suspension of dues check-off."

In a phone interview, Mr. Hughes said that concern about Judge Jones's possible promotion was a top- ic of concern among many labor leaders since he handed down the punishment in reaction to the strike, saying that it was illustrative of a general anti-union animus.

"The decision on the TWU question was noticed by all of the labor movement and commented upon," he said. "If you look at any of the confirmation decisions in Washington, the way that the temperament of a judge is evaluated is based on the decisions that a judge has made. We are of the opinion that that particular appointment would create a change in the neutral nature of the court."

A spokesman for Mr. Paterson did not respond to a request for comment.

The Governor is expected to consider Mr. Hughes's request, as he enjoys considerable union support and his father, veteran labor attorney Basil Paterson, is Local 100's outside labor counsel.

Mr. Hughes believed that Judge Jones's appointment would disrupt Governor Paterson's ability to implement pro-worker initiatives that unions support.

"It will be problematic to the general public policy the Governor has outlined," he said.