TWU Local 100 And ‘Doctor’ Schumer Announce a national movement, “Keep America Moving”

By Joseph M. Calisi, Copyright 2010, All Rights Reserved

Pennsylvania Station, NYC, June 11, 2010 – In a press conference lead by TWU Local 100 President John Samuelson operating behind a national movement, “Keep America Moving”, Senator Charles Schumer announced the finalization of the “Public Transportation Preservation Act” that would provide a $2 billion emergency aid bill for transit systems across the US to reverse urban transit service cuts and layoffs. Samuelson stated that the bill was not just money for New York’s transit system, but to help transit systems nationwide.

Senator Schumer called himself ‘Doctor Schumer’ for the event as the legislation would diagnose and solve the nation’s transportation ills. Senators Dodd (D-NJ), Menendez (D-NJ), Durbin (D-IL) Schumer (D-NY), Lautenberg (D-NJ), Brown (D-OH), Reed (D-RI) and Gillibrand (D-NY), S. 3412, would reverse the effects of the chronic under funding of mass transit systems across the country by injecting $2 billion into mass transit operating funds. The New York tri-state - the country’s largest transportation area, would receive approximately $345 million if enacted.

Keep America Moving (www.keepamericamoving.org), a national coalition of labor leaders, members of transit unions, environmentalists, and faith-based groups that seek to restore transportations jobs and services from coast-to-coast that could be lost without the funds provided in this Federal bill.

Transport Workers Union Local 100 President John Samuelsen sent the message that others would later echo giving the corollary that mass transit was New York City’s lifeblood as its "veins and arteries."

Amalgamated Transit Union International vice president Larry Hanley said that cuts and losses were, “...a national crisis." He termed this legislation is important because normally Federal money is used for capital projects and not to help avoid layoffs. He also noted that the federal government has spent more on public transit in the last year than ever before, the money was not to fund operating costs. New York, Sacramento, Chicago and Atlanta were cities looking at service cuts and/or fare hikes to close each of their own budget gaps.

Within New York City, the money would offset the $143 million the New York State Governor took from the MTA this year and that the money should last a couple of years according to Senator Schumer. The Senator also recalled his youth taking the S2 bus to Junior High School and lamented the loss of student MetroCards as, “unacceptable.” He added that mass transit was, “…the lifeblood of our city. This beautiful, crowded, pulsing city could not be this way unless we had mass transit. "We can't rely on the state very much these days."


Behind Senator Schumer's right shoulder (smiling) is TWU Local 100 President John Samuelsen; on Schumer’s left is NYC Councilman and Transportation Committee Chairman James Vacca.