2016 wrapped up successfully for the MTA and their former CEO and Chairman, Tom Prendergast. Two successes, namely, were the construction of the Second Avenue Subway and the tentative contract agreement with the TWU Local 100. Now, with a new year and new posts to fill, the nation's largest transportation system will see their first [...]
An internal investigation into a former Nassau County jail nurse has reportedly been mishandled and Nassau County COBA President is fighting for answers. After a long series of letters, articles, press conferences, and investigations, former Nassau County Jail nurse Chantiel Cox was charged and arrested February 3rd, 2017 for smuggling contraband to inmates. Nassau County [...]
New York, on both the state and city levels, has been hard at work reforming employee protections. Recently, City officials have been proposing legislation to protect construction workers. The effort has received wide support from other City officials and the Buildings and Construction Trade Council of Greater New York. The individuals supporting the bill also [...]
In the past two years, thirty city construction workers have passed away as a result of work-related accidents. It goes without saying, even one life lost is one too much. Gary Labarbera, President of the Building & Construction Trades Council of Greater New York, wrote an article for Daily News New York that supported the [...]
At midnight on January 15th, the contract between MTA and TWU Local 100 expired. After several rocky weeks of negotiations, the MTA and TWU Local 100 found common ground on Monday, January 16th. Although still in the process of ratification, the union's Executive Board voted 37-6 in support of the agreement according to the [...]
Some time ago, an article titled Timeline of Tug of War for Graduate Student Unions was posted. This past Friday, the rope was pulled a littler harder in the students direction. Graduate students at Columbia University voted 1,602 to 623 in favor of the move to form a union. This union applies to graduate students who work as [...]
This past November, one MTA track worker was killed after being hit by a subway train and another was seriously injured. Subway train service was up and running while the two men, Jeffrey Fleming and the late Louis Gray Jr., were putting up yellow warning lights-the lights that were supposed to help avoid this same [...]
The topic of workers' compensation for athletes is an interesting one. When you consider that some athletes are technically independent contractors, workers' compensation shifts from interesting to equal parts hazy and dangerous. With the 2016 football season well underway and the recent excitement over several anticipated UFC fights, one might question what happens if their favorite fighter [...]
The City College of New York’s dean of the Division of Interdisciplinary Studies and the Recruitment Coordinator at the Center for Worker Education have recently partnered with District Council 37 to provide credit-weighted classes to the Union's workers. The College is offering courses in computer skills through the DC 37 Educational Fund. The fund was [...]
Bill to Raise Age Limit for Firefighters Last week, Councilwoman Elizabeth Crowley backed a bill that would to raise the maximum age for an applicant from 28 to 30, with a 5 year window. "Ms. Crowley’s bill also mandates a 35-year-old cut-off for when a successful applicant can actually join [...]