Roger Toussaint
Roger Toussaint
Roger Toussaintwas the President of Transport Workers UnionLocal 100, the union of New York City Transit Authority employees in New York City and former Vice President of Strategic Planning for the parent union, an international organization...
authority buses halt midnight movement trains unless
Unless there is a substantial movement by the authority, trains and buses will come to a halt as of midnight tonight.
couple extend last members received riders support thanks weeks
We extend thanks to our riders and to our members for the support that they have received in the last couple of weeks of difficulty.
needs pension proposal
Were it not for the pension piece, we would not be out on strike. All it needs to do is take its pension proposal off the table.
deadline good precious progress time
We have no progress to report. That's not good because we have precious little time before the deadline approaches.
progress
We have no progress to report, and that is not good.
ammunition contract deal decided decision hopes order poison pour provide seems sink state voted
What the MTA has decided to do is pour poison on the deal in order to provide ammunition to the opposition, in hopes of having the contract voted down. It seems as if a decision was made by the state to sink the contract.
bargain contract deadline deal past tried
We tried to bargain with the MTA. We negotiated well past our contract deadline because we wanted to get a deal done, and we still do.
affairs business decide determine involved message stick transit workers
My message is let transit workers decide and determine their own fate. Don't get involved in the business and affairs of our union. If you make a deal, stick to it.
gotten insults law obey people transit tried workers
I will do 30 years before transit workers surrender. Working people have tried to obey the law, and we have gotten nothing but insults for it.
members stand sure together
Our members will stand together and stand firm, and make sure the organization is not broken.
agenda chairman explains stake taking
That explains why he has been muscling and intervening in these negotiations all along, why the chairman has been taking instructions from the mayor. There's an agenda at stake here.
believe burden demands forth pension
That would go a long way to us resuming the negotiations. We believe that the pension demands put forth by the MTA are illegal, and burden the negotiations.
appear appreciate front governor nation needs political public television threatened tough
We do not appreciate being threatened on public television nonetheless and in front of our children. Even if the governor needs this to appear to be tough to the nation for his own political ambitions, it's inappropriate.
city extremely fathers points problem shared state
We are not thugs. It points to the problem at the MTA that is shared by the city fathers and the state fathers. ... We find it extremely regrettable.