Brooklyn, NY – Local 100 President John V. Chiarello and other union leaders visited the Flatbush Depot in the Flatlands neighborhood of South Brooklyn on October 6th, to show support for Councilwoman Mercedes Narcisse, a registered nurse who represents hundreds of transit workers in District 46, which covers Canarsie, Flatlands, Gerritsen Beach, Marine Park, Mill Basin, Bergen Beach and Sheepshead Bay.
Rank and file Bus Operators and Bus Maintainers heard from Narcisse, who is facing a challenge from two opponents this coming November. Sharase DeBouse, Local 100’s Political Action Director, introduced her to the members saying she is a strong supporter of Local 100 and is working to protect union jobs against incursions from dollar vans, which saturate South Brooklyn.
The Councilwoman talked to members about Bus Operator safety in addition to the issue of the dollar vans, which was also a subject of remarks by Administrative VP Alexander Kemp. She also asked Operators and Maintainers to contact their local officials to make their concerns known.
President Chiarello rounded out the discussion by encouraging younger members to get involved in local political issues and with their union.
“We have to turn this union over to younger people who will be here longer than us—because nobody lasts forever. You need to know this business of unionism because if you don’t know where you came from, you’re certainly not going to know where you’re going.”
