Catherwood LibraryILR School

In an example of the democratic nature of union decision-making---or of poor timing, depending on your viewpoint---several hundred striking Queens transit workers walked out of a meeting of Transport Workers Union (TWU) Local 100 this past Sunday over a proposed settlement with the three city-subsidized bus companies they work for. Reached after Queens Borough President Helen Marshall talked New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg into offering to loan the bus lines $2 million to meet the health care demands of the striking workers (see WIT for June 18, 2002), the settlement foundered on concerns over workers’ job security when contracts between the city and the companies come up for renewal. Local President Roger Toussaint has indicated disapproval of the Local member and national TWU officer who triggered the walkout by calling for an independent union and accusing Toussaint of selling out, and insists that after a month on strike the membership has the right to a formal vote on the proposed settlement.