TWU has represented workers on New York City’s Gray Line tourist buses for over 50 years. In 2009, the company merged with another company whose workers were represented by a different union, the United Service Workers. The recent election was TWU’s attempt to keep the relationship between the two companies from eroding TWU’s contractual standards, and from subtracting from the number of jobs and job opportunities available to our members.
In the days leading up to the vote, what transpired was a display of exactly the effort TWU is most proud of: a mobilization of the resources, spirit and commitment that’s indicative of the fighting, militant union we’ve promised to become. TWU locals from across divisions came together with TWU International to support Local 225 in the fight of its life, battling for 500+members and the reputation and integrity of our union.
Right: Marion Barash, a highly regarded 85-year-old Gray Line tour guide, didn’t let recovery from a broken hip keep her from voting for TWU!
Together, we mobilized phone banks, fliers, e-mail blasts, the TWU bus, face-to-face meetings and massive amounts of material. Fliers were translated into other languages in order to make clear the union difference for those Gray Line members from other countries. Leaflets were distributed correcting inaccuracies circulating among the workers. Each day, the number of TWU members who volunteered to help in the effort grew, and those volunteers were so motivated by the campaign that they’ve committed to bring their enthusiasm to the next fight. It was truly a team effort, and it represented everything TWU stands for, particularly because it happened so quickly: the election petition was filed at the end of August, and almost immediately after, the campaign was in full swing.
While legal procedures continue to delay a final count in the election, the significance of this campaign effort is a huge boost to what TWU senior leadership has committed to doing for its members: showing up for each other’s fights, every time. The commitment to invest in locals, make resources available, and refuse to sit idle or be pushed around has never been clearer.
Carlos Padilla, President of Local 225, summed up the victory perfectly, saying, “I would like to thank President Lombardo and the entire International Administrative Council for the support and resources they provided to us. Being one of the smaller locals, this exemplifies exactly the commitments made to every delegate when they ran for office, and we thank them for being true to their word.”
The message is clear: We are a fighting union. United. Invincible.
