Three transit unions held a memorial for the members who died because of the pandemic on July 6 at the Charleston Bus Depot in Staten Island.
The Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU), the United Transit Leadership Organization (UTLO) and the Subway-Surface Supervisors Association (SSSA) organized the gathering as a tribute to their members. Combined, locals of the three unions lost a total of 27 members as result of COVID-19. Around ten families of the deceased transit workers joined the ceremony.
“Their family members showed up to keep their memory alive. COVID was a war, and transit workers being essential workers, we came to work each and every day, and we fought that war against an invisible opponent that was the virus. These members, unfortunately, while doing their job and moving the city of New York lost their lives to Covid,” SSSA President Michael Carrube told LaborPress.
The ceremony was attended by Mayor Eric Adams as well as UTLO President Mario Bucceri and ATU President Danny Casella.
In the early days of the pandemic, the three unions as well as Transit Workers United had to fight for their members to get masks and personal protective equipment. Eventually the unions were able to get supplies to its members, but Carrube said that it was a real struggle and in many cases the damage had already been done.
“That’s what our members faced. Members were going to work, and you are working with people in an office, you’re working with people on the platforms, you’re working with people on the buses, you’re dealing with the customers and you had no masks on. You had no hand sanitizer,” Carrube said. “And this deadly killer was running rampant.”
After remarks from the union heads and NYC Transit President Richard Davey, the program involved a roll call and a benediction for the families from MTA Chaplain Rabbi Mendy Mirocznik.
“We just gotta try to keep their memory alive because they sacrificed. They paid the high toll for this,” Carrube said.
The names of the SSSA members who died while serving the transit system are Avron Alves, James Arjune, Laricter Brown, Randolph Christian, Van Christmas, Thomas David, Derbe Fermin, Paul Hall, Edward Ilginis, Lalu Pratap Jose, Martin O’Connell, Winston Pratt, Palwinder Singh, Anthony Smith, Tronsil Spruille, Tamara Thomas, Viktor Zapana and Kenneth Holloman.
ATU Local 726 and Local 1179 members include Kevin Rossiter, Kyoto Williams, Martin Bond, Joseph Gennardo, Gregory Graham, Hugo Gutierrez and Sung Truong.
UTLO members include Stuart Cohen and Clarence Roman.
