Transport Workers Union Local 100, the union representing tens of thousands of rank-and-file New York City Transit employees, has elected a new president, elevating Secretary-Treasurer Richard Davis to one of the city’s most influential labor positions.
Davis, 53, was unanimously elected president by the union’s executive board Tuesday morning, succeeding Tony Utano, who had held the position since 2017, as the former honcho seeks to spend more time with his family. Utano will continue to serve the union as executive director.
Davis was sworn in soon by TWU international president John Samuelsen.
“I promise to work tirelessly on your behalf and put your needs first,” Davis said in a statement. “I will never stop working to make improvements on multiple key fronts, including safety, job security, your quality of life and your ability to take care of your families.”
The new president says the first order of business in his new administration is gearing up for a vigorous contract fight, with the union’s existing labor deal set to expire in May of 2023.
“I will be immediately sending teams into the field as part of an internal organizing and membership outreach campaign,” said Davis. “I believe it’s vitally important that your voices be heard as we chart a course for the future. We also must be ready to mobilize to face any obstacles that are placed in our way.”
Davis is a 27-year veteran employee of New York City Transit, having started as a bus operator aged 26. He joined union leadership as a shop steward, working his way up to becoming division chief of surface transit operations in Manhattan and the Bronx in 2004, and vice president of that unit in 2014. He became Secretary-Treasurer, in charge of the union’s finances, in May of this year.
Local 100’s 41,000-member force — TWU’s largest Local — represents most of New York City’s subway and bus operators, along with track maintenance crews, cleaners, token booth operators, and repair techs working for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority. The union also reps workers for some private transportation modes, like private bus and ferry companies, along with school bus operators and carriage horse drivers.
An MTA spokesperson declined to comment on internal union affairs.
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