news MTA layoffs: Bus drivers fighting in Iraq War get rude 'Welcome Home'

[Harry]

Two city bus drivers who were sent to war in Iraq and Afghanistan are getting pink slips instead of yellow ribbons.

 

Sgts. Alvin Taylor and Anddy (Angel) Moreno, bus drivers called up to serve overseas, are set to lose their civilian jobs this weekend as part of massive transit budget cuts.

 

"The way Transit is laying off these two individuals who are fighting for their country is totally unpatriotic and unethical," charged Frank Austin, a division chairman with Local 100 of the Transport Workers Union.

 

Taylor, 55, of Midwood, Brooklyn, is serving with the Army Reserve in Kandahar, Afghanistan, where he provides security for military convoys.

 

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/2010/06/22/2010-06-22_hardly_the_warm_welcome_home_for_vets.html#ixzz0raSvaqxL

[Locomotion69]

Good find Harry. We should send Satan Walder and his cronies to Iraq and Afghanistan and see how long they last before they throw their hands up in the air and surrender.:cry:

 

They wouldn't last very long because they are cowards who can't fight physically and can't handle combat outdoors.

 

Thank you Sgts Taylor and Moreno for serving our country, the both of you are true heroes. :tup:

[BusOperator3319]

Please Tha union Delegates are Tha last people the news should be talking to if only I could tell you some of Tha shit me and my colleagues have been through with Tha union and management you wouldn't believe it and now they are worrying about 2 out of nearly 600 to 1,000 Bus Operators who were laid off give me a break they should be treated no differently one of them came on Tha job last year what are they supposed to get special treatment because they are serving this country nobody told them to Tha last time I checked Tha military was voluntary and not mandatory no disrespect if their wives don't have a job they need to go find one ASAP that traditional 1 bread winner shit don't work anymore and this here shows you that it don't

[LexAveExp5]

dont they also get a check from the military? they're probably better off than the other 598 laid off bus operators. i dont think "volunteer army" is the same as "volunteer firefighter" lol. they're picking up a check (and benefits)

[cosmo]

First,thank you Sgt Taylor and Sgt Moreno. I am not an MTA employee,but this article is driving me insane. They put there life on the line and this is what they get in return. This Walder guy is EVIL.

[LexAveExp5]

they have to lay off by seniority. you cant get mad at WHO they lay off, just at the fact that they are laying off, period

 

i should also add that where i work (the post office), when doing layoffs they must factor in not only years of postal service but also military service, and each person has a "score". those with the lowest score get the boot. maybe someone can shed some light on if the has a similar policy?

[CPBO]

Last in first out......we work by seniority.....both these guys have very little time on the job.....I commend them for fighting for our country but I cannot feel sorry for them getting the pink slip........It is not any body's fault they joined the MTA when they did.....So for the President of TWU to say what he said in the article makes no sense....these are tough times and nobody should feel secure in their job.....work hard then harder.....but when it comes to a job with seniority....nothing you can do about the pink slip.

[cdi919]

i cant feel too bad about them because even if they were not deployed they would still get a pinkslip. the union is doing some backwards shit. i also dont like the fact that walder and samuelson have been having "talks". samuelson probably already knew the layoffs were coming and walder probably already knew that twu would go to court. its a dirty bed they are in and we will be the ones to suffer. notice they have not said a word about track dept lately.

[Will-Bx-718]

Yeah feel exactly the same. I commend them for fighting for us over seas, but I don't feel like they should get special treatment from everyone else when it comes to layoff's. We work by seniority not status of active military. Now when I received my notice of reduction in grade there was a form to fill out if you had military time, but I believe you still needed more of a considerable amount of time than these guys had. I mean one guy is still a probie. And they don't really say how much time the other guy has but it would seem that he has less than 2 and 1/2 years on the job. Now I don't mean to sound cold but we are all in the same boat, and I would be pissed if some one got special treatment over me to not be laid and return I was laid off. So it's unfortunate but with civil service law it's fair and just. But they are both active government employees so they will be better than others who will only get unemployment checks like me when my time comes.

[rtype3995]

i cant feel too bad about them because even if they were not deployed they would still get a pinkslip. the union is doing some backwards shit. i also dont like the fact that walder and samuelson have been having "talks". samuelson probably already knew the layoffs were coming and walder probably already knew that twu would go to court. its a dirty bed they are in and we will be the ones to suffer. notice they have not said a word about track dept lately.[/quote}

 

i agree 100% with this post............some people on here think the union is doing all they can to prevent layoffs and s***..........thats the biggest crock ive heard in quite a while.............

[Hopeful]

Last in first out......we work by seniority.....both these guys have very little time on the job.....I commend them for fighting for our country but I cannot feel sorry for them getting the pink slip........It is not any body's fault they joined the MTA when they did.....So for the President of TWU to say what he said in the article makes no sense....these are tough times and nobody should feel secure in their job.....work hard then harder.....but when it comes to a job with seniority....nothing you can do about the pink slip.

 

NOT TRUE!

 

CED- Car Inspectors are being let go and its not by the seniority list. If it was, I wouldn't be on the list.

[BusOperator3319]

NOT TRUE!

 

CED- Car Inspectors are being let go and its not by the seniority list. If it was, I wouldn't be on the list.

I hope they keep Tha most inexperienced car inspectors so when trains break down shit hits Tha fan And I hope Tha Feds don't give them any funds for any Major projects

[metsfan]

This is really sad, those jobs are supposed to be held for them.

 

- A

[LexAveExp5]

its supposed to be held for them so that nobody else takes their slot. its not meant to be held for them if their slot is ELIMINATED

[RTOMan]

NOT TRUE!

 

CED- Car Inspectors are being let go and its not by the seniority list. If it was, I wouldn't be on the list.

 

One question are you a provisional?

[Hopeful]

One question are you a provisional?

 

Ofcourse! All provisionals regardless of amount of time on the job are gone. 3 ppl that have 20+ years.

[RTOMan]

Ofcourse! All provisionals regardless of amount of time on the job are gone. 3 ppl that have 20+ years.

 

Ah i see..

[jump101]

ii understand the seniority thing,believe me,22 yrs,teamsters. i wound up on the short end of the stick many times....however, in this case, these guys are doing service for the country.... something people are not willing to do anymore.... i take my hat off to them. i salute them. i hold them in high esteem... for their courage and selfless service and sacrifice i say let them keep their jobs for now , at least till the next round of layoffs if there should be one....for Gods sake lets not treat these guys the way we were treated when we came home from vietnam..................jump101

[Tricknologist]

Back on the job, at MTA Bus.

 

Two bus drivers laid off while dodging bullets in Afghanistan and Iraq will be put back on the payroll, easing their worries on the homefront, the Daily News has learned.

 

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority's about-face on the layoffs of Sgts. Alvin Taylor and Anddy Moreno comes in the wake of a series of Daily News articles about the servicemen being stripped of their MTA pay and benefits.

 

"It's very uplifting," Taylor told the News during a phone call from Afghanistan yesterday. "I'll be able to continue what I'm doing here with a free mind. I'll be able to concentrate on doing what I'm doing here to stay alive and not worry about having a job back home."

 

Taylor and Moreno were among the hundreds of bus drivers, mechanics and other workers laid off in recent weeks by NYC Transit, part of a plan to close an $800 million budget gap.

 

The MTA will now put Taylor and Moreno on the payroll of MTA Bus, another authority division where there are vacancies.

 

Taylor, 55, of Midwood, Brooklyn, is serving with the Army Reserve in Kandahar, Afghanistan, where he provides security for military convoys. He was deployed to Afghanistan in February, just months after becoming a driver with NYC Transit, the MTA's biggest division.

 

Moreno, 37, a National Guardsman from the Bronx, is a supply soldier constantly on the move between bases and units in Iraq.

 

Last week, he told the News that he was "going nuts" because he was counting on his NYC Transit checks to help provide for his wife and three children.

 

Union officials praised the MTA's change of heart.

 

"I'm glad the MTA has realized that its military personnel deserve to be able to fight for their county without worrying about their well being at home or how their family or children will be supported without them being there," Frank Austin, a division chairman with Transport Workers Union Local 100, said.

 

About 50 laid off NYC Transit drivers have accepted jobs at MTA Bus that have lower hourly pay rates.

 

Moreno and Taylor are expected to be put back on the NYC Transit payroll when positions open during the normal course of retirements.

 

In addition to the layoffs, MTA financial plans also include raising fare and toll revenues by 7.5% in January. The MTA is also drafting a proposal that would keep the one-way cash fare at $2.25, increase the $89 monthly MetroCard to about $99 and the $27 weekly card up to $29.

 

pdonohue@nydailynews.com

 

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/2010/07/10/2010-07-10_gis_back_in_busness_mta_under_fire_finds_jobs_for_2_workers_it_axed.html#ixzz0tBBI2Uej

[Will-Bx-718]

Back on the job, at MTA Bus.

 

I'm glad to see these guys got their jobs back, but I don't think it's fair to the other 598 operators that got axed. I underdstand they have military time but they didn't have sufficient time on the job for that military time to save them obviously. So why should their jobs have been held in such high regard? I'm sure all he other b/o's had families to support. I just don't think it was right the way they handled the situation . If anything they should have just had higher priority on the preferred list to get re hired.

[Tricknologist]

I'm glad to see these guys got their jobs back, but I don't think it's fair to the other 598 operators that got axed...

 

Same thoughts here, but the MTA has to save face. Either live with the(enough) bad publicity or give those 2 guys a job somewhere else to bury the issue.

[cdi919]

I'm glad to see these guys got their jobs back, but I don't think it's fair to the other 598 operators that got axed. I underdstand they have military time but they didn't have sufficient time on the job for that military time to save them obviously. So why should their jobs have been held in such high regard? I'm sure all he other b/o's had families to support. I just don't think it was right the way they handled the situation . If anything they should have just had higher priority on the preferred list to get re hired.

 

it also said that 50 other drivers took positions at (MTA)bus also. maybe they offered the option to other people and they turned it down.

[jmazz77]

the day we went to turn in our stuff they gave everyone applications to MTA Bus and for Temporary Bridge & Tunnel Officer... That plus the metrocard, was like 3 slaps in the face...

 

But I can understand why someone would take the offer.. I guess I have too much pride.

[BusOperator3319]

 

it also said that 50 other drivers took positions at (MTA)bus also. maybe they offered the option to other people and they turned it down.

Other people did turn it down because at the end of the day when they re-hire in September so they say my best guess is those who went to (MTA)Bus will try to go back but will be turned away because they already have a position so they made a big mistake and they reissued their Employee passes to the (MTA)Bus green and white employee pass so what does that tell you

[gabchi0909]

Other people did turn it down because at the end of the day when they re-hire in September so they say my best guess is those who went to (MTA)Bus will try to go back but will be turned away because they already have a position so they made a big mistake and they reissued their Employee passes to the (MTA)Bus green and white employee pass so what does that tell you

 

I thought that when they rehire off the preferred list, they have to rehire in order of seniority. I do not think it will matter if anyone went to MTA or not. They offered those positions so they did not have to pay unemployment.