Thompson Gets TWU Endorsement Vs. Its Old Sparring Partner

WILLIAM C. THOMPSON JR.: Mayor bad for workers.

City Comptroller William C. Thompson Jr. July 29 received the endorsement of Transport Workers Union Local 100 in a video-taped announcement circulated on YouTube.

During the event, which was closed to reporters, departing Local 100 President Roger Toussaint said, "New York needs to be led by someone who understands working people."

Says Mayor's Pushing Out Workers

Mr. Thompson attacked Mayor Bloomberg's record, saying that under his leadership the city has become less affordable for ordinary citizens. "Are we going to be able to stay in New York?" he asked. "I think we've all seen what eight years of Mike Bloomberg have done to New York. We're being pushed out of the city."

Mr. Thompson has been able to cultivate ties with Local 100 over the years, as he has been vocal against moves by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority to cut service and increase fares and has joined the chorus of labor and community groups that have criticized the agency for a lack of transparency.

"From his 2002 exposure of the MTA's two sets of books to his defense of keeping the booths open today, Bill Thompson's attention to transit has benefitted riders and workers alike," Mr. Toussaint said. "We also appreciate his advocacy for the needs of ordinary New Yorkers in areas such as health, education and housing."

From 'Shut Up' to 'Thuggishly'

Local 100 and Mr. Bloomberg, on the other hand, have had an acrimonious relationship marked by harsh rhetoric. In late 2002, asked about critical comments the Mayor made about the union's threat of a strike during a tense contract negotiation, Mr. Toussaint responded that Mr. Bloomberg should "shut up."

Three years later, when the union actually had its members walk off the job, the Mayor accused Local 100's leadership of acting "thuggishly," which Mr. Toussaint characterized as a smear of all transit workers.

After the union lost the right to automatic dues deduction from members' paychecks as one of the penalties for the illegal three-day walkout, its attempt to regain it was blunted by the Bloomberg administration despite the MTA's conditional support for restoration.

City lawyers insisted that Mr. Toussaint and the rest of the union's board explicitly pledge not to strike again before the penalty was revoked, and a Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice sided with them, leading to a delay of another year before dues rights were restored.

Mr. Thompson also received the endorsement of the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union, whose president, Stuart Appelbaum, said that the Comptroller's record proved that "government can be made to work for working people."