The People's Solidarity Concert Friday January 8 @ Local 32 BJ

mark your calendars and PASS THE WORD !the PEOPLE'S SOLIDARITY CONCERT PARTY HEARTY TO BEGIN THE NEW YEAR

Friday, January 8, 2010 – 7 pm till Midnight at Local 32-BJ

101 Avenue of the Americas (6th Avenue)
between Watts and Grand St, in lower Manhattan

Donation: $15.00 (no one turned away)


Sponsored by the People's Organization for Progress and The Alliance for Progressive Media

Sick and tired of government transferring wealth from the workers to the bankers - well, you wouldn't know it from the mass and liberal media who ignore or distort our voices. So no matter what your issue is, the question is how do we get our
stories heard and who tells them in 2010? Begin the new year with a solidarity concert and eat, drink, and meet those who'll work to get the voices of the people heard.


PERFORMERS:

Sonia Sanchez, nationally recognized poet

Heritage OP, percussion sensations
Fred Ho, jazz baritone saxophonist
Kinshasa and Friends

The Doo Wop Classics
and DJ Peace
Travel: #1, A, C, E trains to Canal Street, Manhattan
Information: 646-506-9422

As TWU Local 100 is in transition the MTA sinks to new low and puts NYC students at Risk!

Listen to Building Bridges on WBAI 99.5FM this Monday and every Monday at 7:00PM for all your community & labor news and updates on the MTA service cuts.

Building Bridges: Your Community and Labor Report
National Edition
Produced by Ken Nash and Mimi Rosenberg
**************************************
Day of Outrage
NYC Student Rally at MTA Headquarters
Protesting Metrocard Cutbacks
With
New York City High School Students:
Jordan Orvam, Kyle Maer, Francine Prince, Sherana Woods

More than a thousand students from across NYC protested against a
proposal passed by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA)
Board in favor of serious budget cuts taking place next year. Among
the most critical effects of these budget cuts is the discontinuation
of a program which provides free subway and bus MetroCards for
more than 500,000 city students. This outrageous plan will hit poor
families the hardest and will affect many students ability to attend
school and obtain the free education that they deserve
**************
NYS Governor’s Budget Attacks School Children
With
Alan B. Lubin , Exec. Vice Pres., NYS United Teachers
and
Geri D. Palast, Executive Director, Campaign for Fiscal Equity

Governor Paterson unilaterally withheld $750 million in scheduled
payments to schools and local governments. The impact of these cuts
on education statewide from kindergarten to college level will be
devastating, especially in the poorer districts. A coalition of teachers’
unions and local school officials countered with a lawsuit against
Paterson arguing that his decision violated New York’s Constitution.
Paterson argues cut back while a broad coalition urges among
other things tax the rich.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++
To Download or listen to this 27:46 minute program,

Pacifica Station only can go to Audioport - Menu Option
“Weekly Program Section" dated 12-26-09
http://www.audioport.org/index.php?op=program-info&program_id=30197&nav=&

all others go to http://www.radio4all.net/index.php/program/38411
or
http://www.archive.org/details/BuildingBridgesNewYorkCutsKidsSchoolAidAndTransportation


Please email Building Bridges if you are broadcasting our National Edition.
We'd like to have an accurate list of which stations are airing Building Bridges.
So please let us know! Email knash@igc.org

Building Bridges is regularly broadcast live over WBAI,
99.5 FM in the N.Y.C Metropolitan area on Mondays from
7-8pm EST and is streamed, archived and pod cast at
www.wbai.org .
Our website is www.buildingbridgesradio.org

Building Bridges National Edition is regularly broadcast over:

WERU Blue Hill and Bangor, Maine
WGOT - Gainesville, Florida.
WUOW - Oneonta, N.Y.
WWUH, - West Hartford, CT
WVJW- Benwood, WV
KRFP, Moscow, ID
KCSB, Santa Barbara, CA
WXOJ, Northampton, MA
KSOW,Cottage Grove, Oregon
WKNH ,Keene, NH
CKDU, Halifax, N.S., Canada
KRFC, Fort Collins, Colorado
WRPI, Troy, New York
WNRB, Wausau, WI
KRBS, Oroville, CA
WHLD, Buffalo, NY
Free Radio Olympia, Olympia,WA
KQRP Salida, California
East Hill Radio, Snoqualmie, WA
KSKQ, Ashland, Oregon
KWMD, Kasiloff-Anchorage, Alaska
WPRR, Grand Rapids, Michigan
WCRS, Columbus, Ohio
WSLU, St. Leo, Florida

as well as internet stations:

Radio Free Kansas
Radio Veronica, West Point, PA
The Journey Radio
WXXE
Seattle Radical Radio
Radio for Peace International
Radio Labourstart
AmericanFM.org
RadioDriftless.org
Grateful Dread Public Radio
=========================================
For archived Building Bridges National Programs go to
http://www.radio4all.net/index.php/series/Building+Bridges
For archives of all Building Bridges programs go to our website:
http://www.buildingbridgesradio.org

TBOU Member Tip of the Week -Why Unions do Politics

Member Tip

for the week of December 21, 2009

Influence Inside and Outside the Workplace

For every employee, both those in the public and private sector, what goes on in the world of politics has a direct connection to the union's ability to advance and protect the members' interests. Legislatures pass and enforce laws that can make it easier or harder for unions to organize, to protect members' health and safety, to bargain for reasonable health care coverage, and to improve countless other aspects of working life. What is won at a bargaining table can be taken away with a stroke of a pen by elected officials who are not worker-friendly, or by appointed or elected judges.

Adapted from The Union Members Complete Guide, by Michael Mauer

--
read more at http://www.unionist.com/big-labor

NYC Transit Workers Take Back Union prepare for battle with the MTA on Building Bridges:WBAI 99.5FM

NY Building Bridges Labor Report Interviews NYC TWU 100 New Leadership‏
This interveiw took place live Monday December 14 follow link below to hear the new leaders of TWU Local 100
NY Building Bridges Labor Report Interviews NYC TWU 100 New Leadership


Building Bridges: Your Community and Labor Report
National Edition
Produced by Ken Nash and Mimi Rosenberg
**************************************
NYC Transit Workers Take Back Union After Bitter Election
with
. John Samuelsen, President-Elect ,TWU Local 100
. Israel Rivera. Secretary Treasurer-Elect
. Benita Johnson, Recording Secretary-Elect
. Angel Giboyeaux, Administrative VP Elect

Subway Track Inspector John Samuelsen & the Take Back Our Union
slate won the hotly contested TWU Local 100 elections Dec. 7 after a
multi-year campaign of criticizing the administration of Roger Toussaint
& Acting Pres. Curtis Tate over issues of union democracy & militancy.
Their first priorities will be getting the MTA to honor an arbitration award
granting union members 11% raises under a 3-year contract & fighting
cutbacks due to the reduced revenue to the MTA.
*******
Brave New Films presents:
Where Was the Fed
with
Senator Bernie Sanders

Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke, in charge of the central bank since 2006,
could have demanded that Wall Street provide adequate credit to small
and medium-sized businesses to create decent-paying jobs in a
productive economy, but he did not. He could have insisted that large
bailed-out banks end the usurious practice of charging interest rates of
30 percent or more on credit cards, but he did not. He could have broken
up too-big-to-fail financial institutions that took Federal Reserve
assistance, but he did not.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++
To Download or listen to this 27:19 minute program,

Pacifica Station only can go to Audioport - Menu Option
“Weekly Program Section" dated 12-20-09
http://www.audioport.org/index.php?op=program-info&program_id=30083&nav=&

all others go to http://www.radio4all.net/index.php/program/38290

Please email Building Bridges if you are broadcasting our National Edition.
We'd like to have an accurate list of which stations are airing Building Bridges.
So please let us know! Email knash@igc.org

Building Bridges is regularly broadcast live over WBAI,
99.5 FM in the N.Y.C Metropolitan area on Mondays from
7-8pm EST and is streamed, archived and pod cast at
www.wbai.org .
Our website is www.buildingbridgesradio.org

Building Bridges National Edition is regularly broadcast over:

WERU Blue Hill and Bangor, Maine
WGOT - Gainesville, Florida.
WUOW - Oneonta, N.Y.
WWUH, - West Hartford, CT
WVJW- Benwood, WV
KRFP, Moscow, ID
KCSB, Santa Barbara, CA
WXOJ, Northampton, MA
KSOW,Cottage Grove, Oregon
WKNH ,Keene, NH
CKDU, Halifax, N.S., Canada
KRFC, Fort Collins, Colorado
WRPI, Troy, New York
WNRB, Wausau, WI
KRBS, Oroville, CA
WHLD, Buffalo, NY
Free Radio Olympia, Olympia,WA
KQRP Salida, California
East Hill Radio, Snoqualmie, WA
KSKQ, Ashland, Oregon
KWMD, Kasiloff-Anchorage, Alaska
WPRR, Grand Rapids, Michigan
WCRS, Columbus, Ohio
WSLU, St. Leo, Florida

as well as internet stations:

Radio Free Kansas
Radio Veronica, West Point, PA
The Journey Radio
WXXE
Seattle Radical Radio
Radio for Peace International
Radio Labourstart
AmericanFM.org
RadioDriftless.org
Grateful Dread Public Radio
=========================================
For archived Building Bridges National Programs go to our website at
http://www.buildingbridgesradio.org
or
http://www.radio4all.net/index.php/series/Building+Bridges

always visit www.tbou.org for latest labor news

The Take Back Our Union (TBOU) Women's Committee invites the TWU Local 100 Women's Committee to Brunch this Saturday December 19 , 2009

This Saturday December 19, the Take Back Our Union (TBOU) women's committee has invited the TWU Local 100 women's committee to a Solidarity Brunch Meeting . The purpose of this meeting is to put the recent bitter TWU elections behind us and to do what's best for all of the sisters in TWU Local 100. The meeting will take place this Saturday at the IAC located at 55 West 17 Street on the 5th floor (between 5th and 6th avenue in Manhattan)

WHAT : Solidarity Brunch to Rebuild TWU LOCAL 100 from a Women's Prospective
DATE : Saturday December 19
TIME : 10:00AM to 1:00PM
Where: 55 West 17 street 5th floor in Manhattan
Sorry Guys this is a Women's only meeting,To take part in the rebuilding of TWU Local 100 visit our blog often at www.tbou.org

The MTA Attacks TWU Local100 ,Transit Riders and Students

JOIN COUNCIL MEMBER CHARLES BARRON, TRANSIT WORKERS, RIDERS AND YOUTH TOMORROW, WEDNESDAY DECEMBER 16, 2009 8:30 AM


TO PROTEST THE MTA'S ATTACK ON STUDENTS AND OTHERS


Wednesday, 8:30 AM at MTA Headquarters, 347 Madison Street , Bet 44th and 45th Street


As Wall Street prepares to lavish its bankers and traders with billions in year-end bonuses, the MTA is getting ready to worsen the economic crisis for millions of New Yorkers.

Why? To make sure bankers get their billion-dollar bonuses by paying off the monstrous debt service the MTA owes to the banks.

Don’t believe the media reports claiming that the raises – standard 3.5% and 4% annual increases – awarded to the transit workers on Friday are the cause of these outrageous cuts. To claim a crisis over $400 million – a pittance in comparison to the billions in bonuses going out to Wall Street even as we speak – is ridiculous. $30 billion in bonuses will be paid out among the top three banks alone. Trillions were handed out in bailout money.

In fact, it is the banks who are creating this crisis. The MTA is scrambling to pay its debt service to the long list of banks it owes money to, many of whom are collecting interest on loans whose principle was paid off long ago.

If anybody needs to “sacrifice,” it is these banks, who are bleeding public transportation and every other sector of society dry even as they kick people out of their homes and loot the treasury to cover their casino-gambling losses.

By re-introducing the “doomsday cuts” in a jobless recovery – cuts that were supposedly avoided mere months ago – the MTA has made it crystal clear that its role is to serve the rich at the expense of the riders. Its illegitimacy is obvious to all. The riders, transit workers, and all the people who make this city and its subway run are the only ones who can be trusted to make these decisions justly. Bail out the riders, not the banks!To stay informed about the MTA service cuts visit www.takebackourunion.org or www.BailOutPeople.org

Incoming TWU Local Officers to appear live on WBAI 99.5 tomorrow at 7:00PM

WBAI Radio's Building Bridges: Your Community & Labor Report
Produced & Hosted by Mimi Rosenberg & Ken Nash
Monday, December 14, 2009, 7 - 8 p.m. EST, over 99.5 FM
or streaming live at http://www.wbai.org
Transit Workers Take Back Union After Bitter Election join the the newly elected leadership of TWU Local 100
. John Samuelsen, President-Elect ,TWU Local 100
. Israel Rivera, Secretary Treasurer-Elect
. Benita Johnson, Recording Secretary-Elect
. Angel Giboyeaux, Administrative VP -Elect
Tomorrow live at 7PM 99.5FM

the Take Back Our Union (TBOU)
slate won the hotly contested TWU Local 100 elections Dec. 7 after a
two-year campaign of working on the members issues and fighting with the community to stop the MTA from cutting service to the riding public.They defeated the administration of Roger Toussaint and his hand pick successor Curtis Tate and look to rebuild TWU Local 100 from the bottom up.

Their first priorities will be getting the MTA to honor an arbitration award
granting union members 11% raises under a 3-year contract that this pass Friday December 11, Judge Peter Sherwood ruled that the MTA was to give transit workers there pay increases. The new TWU leadership vows to increase the fighting of cutbacks due to the reduced revenue to the MTA.
*******
Building Bridges and most WBAI Programs are now being archived
for 90 Days. They are also being PodCast. These links will be live.
15 minutes after the program ends. To listen, download or pod cast
archived shows go to http://archive.wbai.org/allshows.php
Visit our web site -
www.buildingbridgesradio.org and visit the take back our union website at www.takebackourunion.org and our blog at www.tbou.org

TWU Local 100 Defeats MTA in Court Battle Over Arbitraion Awarded Contract.

Judge Peter Sherwood of the supreme court of NY state has upheld TWU/MTA arbitration awards and the MTA’s petition to vacate the awards. This means the MTA is running of options in stopping transit workers from getting the fare increases they deserve.

The MTA and the Mayor went to court to hold up the arbitration award in order to continue to punish transit workers for the 2005 strike .The MTA's case was weak to begin with at the court hearings in November the MTA lawyers only attacked two provisions in the arbitration decision one was giving transit workers 3% in 2011 the last year of the contract and the other was the capping of the 1.5% health care payments. The reason the MTA did not attack the 4% raises in 2009 and 2010 is the arbitration agreement calls for these 4% raises in 2009 and 2010 to be staggered so that the MTA would have the ability within there budget to pay transit workers the same 4% raises as other public sector workers where given.This also means however , where as transit workers where given the same 4% raises as other NYC public sector workers actual take home pay for TWU members would only be around 2.5% for 2009 and 2010.

The ironic part is TWU Local 100 members would have gotten a 3.5% wage increase in 2011 but wages where cut by a half percent to pay for the capping of the 1.5% health care tax. The TBOU independent research team has obtain documents which show that TWU members paid almost 57 million dollars to the MTA in 2006 and 2007 due to the 1.5% health care tax. In 2008 alone the 1.5% health care tax cost transit workers $32,575,236.28. Records for 2009 are incomplete but for the first half of the 2009 transit workers have already given the MTA over 20 million dollars due the 1.5% health care tax. So where as capping the 1.5% is nice transit workers should keep in mind two things one is they paid for the capping of the 1.5% with a wage reduction and two the 1.5% was clearly stated to be for retirement health care benefits in the 2006 MOU. To stay informed visit www.tbou.org daily.