Newsday (New York), November 14, 2006, Tuesday

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Newsday (New York)

November 14, 2006 Tuesday
CITY EDITION

SECTION: NEWS; Pg. A16

HEADLINE: TWU rivals face off in debate;
Contest for transit union's leadership pits 4 of 5 candidates in an unusual forum billed as closed-door session

BYLINE: BY CHUCK BENNETT. amNEWYORK

BODY:
Transit union president Roger Toussaint will be on the hot seat this evening in a four-way debate in advance of the Transport Workers Union election.
The debate, which was described as highly unusual for a union election, was conceived by Toussaint and his No. 2, Ed Watt, after a symposium in September at the CUNY Graduate Center on the legacy of the transit strike.
"In general, the labor movement itself doesn't do enough of these things," said Gene Carroll, who will serve as moderator and teaches at Cornell University's School of Industrial and Labor Relations. "It's a useful democratic forum."
Barry Roberts, who heads the Rail & Bus United Slate and is Toussaint's highest-profile challenger, is the only candidate not attending.
"Toussaint has squashed democratic debate within [TWU] Local 100 for the past three years. Now, as an act of desperation, he wants to debate, and it's too late," said John Samuelsen, who is running for the No. 2 spot on the same slate as Roberts.
Other candidates were enthusiastic.
"This is a golden opportunity," said Ainsely Stewart, who is running for president on the Union Democracy slate. Stewart led the "Vote No" campaign against the contract that was settled after the strike. That contract was initially rejected and is now in the hands of an independent arbitrator.
Carroll said debate questions will go beyond the strike and include safety, health care, and rank-and-file workers' relationships with supervisors. Members of the 33,700-strong union will start mailing ballots Nov. 20, with final results due Dec. 15.
Toussaint has served two three-year terms.
The fact that the debate will be open only to the media irked some union members.
"It's a closed-door debate," said Lee Ireland, a conductor with 22 years on the job. He tried to organize an open debate for the same evening.

GRAPHIC: File Photo by Jefferson Siegel - In a debate tonight, Roger Toussaint will be defending his leadership of the 33,700-member transportation union.