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A Unified TWU is Essential

To the Editor:

Thomas McKeon has criticized Transport Workers Union Local 100 President John Samuelsen for hiring his election opponent, Curtis Tate, to represent the union in Albany (letter to the editor—Jan. 22). He claims it is a betrayal of the principles he ran upon.

I understand his anger at the outgoing leadership, but strongly disagree with his conclusion. Yes, we voted for change; not just a change of leadership, but a change in the way the union is run.

For too long union staff positions have been used to reward political supporters rather than choosing people based upon their knowledge and competence. This left no room for healthy debate of any kind.

Those who expressed even the smallest disagreement with the president had no chance of being hired, or were summarily fired if they were already on staff (I was fired from a union position for raising questions about the 2005 contract agreement). This led to an atmosphere where honest questions were rarely raised and little meaningful discussion occurred. It was an atmosphere that TBOU was committed to changing.

Samuelsen’s hiring of Tate is an example of how he is attempting to fulfill one of the main platforms of the “Take Back Our Union” slate: staffing decisions should be based upon qualifications, not political loyalty. The only relevant question to ask is, “Is this the best person to fill the job?”

An atmosphere of dictatorial control only weakens our union. We need to be able to discuss matters openly, in a respectful manner, without fear of retribution. Now that we are facing renewed attacks from the TA, we cannot afford to be weakened by further divisions. We need to work together, no matter what slate we ran on, for the good of all the membership.

That means putting aside past differences to form a united union strong enough to face the attacks management will surely throw at us. I will do so. I hope brother McKeon will do so, too.
MIKE JEROME
TWU Shop Steward
Car Equipment Department