"No laughing matter" for RTS & ATU--shining the light on injustice
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Hello. My name is Abasi Kitt. I’m currently a Transit Operator at the Rochester-Genesee Regional Transportation Authority (RGRTA). During my first career with this company, I got an approval letter in early November 2009 and started training on November 30, 2009 as a city bus driver. By January 2010 I had completed training and had my own rout as a part-time operator. On September 20, 2010 I was a full-time operator. Driving city bus was and still is the best job that I ever had. I get to do something that I’m good at and get to help the community as well by shuttling people who need a ride to where they need to go.
On February 10, 2011 I took a Fire Fighter exam and scored 100%. Although I really liked my current job I had a feeling that I could better serve my community by being a firefighter. In the spring of 2013, the City of Rochester Fire Department contacted me about joining the summer recruit class of 2013. What that meant was that I would be a Conditional Firefighter on the condition that I passed a roughly six month academy class that had two parts. The first part being a medical because Rochester firefighters are now required to be emergency medical technicians (EMTs). The second part was regular firefighter stuff. Any how I knew that I had to get my affairs in order with my job at Regional Transit Service (RTS). At the time of my decision RTS was still under a contract book effective from January 1, 2012 to December 31, 2014. I believe we are still under that contract currently. On page 11, article 17 the last sentence said: “Employees off on a leave of absence shall not take any other employment without the consent of the Company and the Union." Upon understanding that I went to talk with Amalgamated Transit Union Local 282 President Jacques Chapman in the spring of 2013. I told him that I wanted to take a leave of absence to join the firefighter academy. He (Jacques Chapman) told me that I should lie to the company. He told me to tell the company that I was taking a leave for another reason. I didn’t agree with that. Later on that spring of 2013 I saw Janet P. Snyder who is the Director of Labor Relations at RTS. I told her about my ambitions to become a firefighter and requested to have a leave of absence. She said that she would get back to me. About a week later my direct manager; the Director of RTS Bus Operations Michael Capadano said that I have about two weeks to write him a resignation letter if I wanted to join the firefighter academy. So with a heavy heart I wrote my letter of resignation on June 23, 2013. My resignation was accepted July 3, 2013 and my last day of work was July 5, 2013.
On Monday, July 8, 2013 I joined the firefighter class as a recruit. During the morning we would study college courses on anatomy and do physical training during the afternoon. As the physical exercise increased and we had more workshops where we performed CPR on dummies, I felt sharp pains around my right abdominal area. On August 14, 2013 my personal physician Dr. Haris Aziz diagnosed me with having an abdominal hernia and ordered not to do strenuous activities. My doctor said that I would need surgery to fix this. I would not be able to pass the academy if I couldn’t do physical exercise and be out for surgery. On August 28, 2013 I was summoned to Executive Deputy Chief Bill Curran’s office. During this meeting which turned out to be an exit interview (present were Executive Deputy Chief Bill Curran, Deputy Chief Bill Holtz, Battalion Chief Rich Yackel, and Captain Bob Shaw) Executive Deputy Chief Curran told me that he had some bad news. He told me that the fire department couldn’t use me anymore. Curran presented me with two letters. One of the letters said that I voluntarily resigned my position as a firefighter recruit and that the executives treated me fairly. The other letter said that I was terminated for failure to satisfactorily perform during my probationary period. Bill Curran preferred that I signed the resignation letter. He told me that if I signed the preferred letter he would reach out to his contacts at RTS and try to get my position back as a full-time operator. If I signed the termination letter then he wouldn’t help me get back to RTS. I signed the resignation letter. Rick Yackel walked me to my locker to get my belongings then politely walked me off the premises. About a week later I got a call from an RTS recruitment manager. She said that she had an opening for me as a Lift Line employee until a position opened up as a part-time bus operator. Training for Lift Line only paid about $8.00 an hour. I was making $22 something before I left RTS. She said I had about a couple of days to decide if I want to accept the position. That same day I got a call from Bill Curran asking me if I got my job back. I told him the news. He told me that was not what he and RTS agreed on. He called them back and confirmed to me that he was unable to get my position back. He then sent me a letter of termination. I currently have a resignation letter signed by me and a termination letter signed by then-Executive Fire Chief Salvatore Mitrano.
I ended up accepting the position as a Lift Line operator. Then, on October 26, 2013, a part-time bus operator position opened up and I took that spot. By August 30, 2014 I was a full-time bus operator again. I went from making $22 per hour in July of 2013 to $8 per hour in September of 2013 to making $18.01 per hour as a full-time bus operator once again. The reason why the raises didn’t come so fast was because our local union president negotiated us into a backwards contract that hurt bus operators who were hired on or after March 7, 2013. Basically, it would take 8 years instead of 5 to achieve the same pay rate as people hired before that date. Thinking back on my situation, it makes sense as to why Director of Labor Relations Janet P. Snyder was so quick to help me push myself out the door. It is also understandable why my union president was scared to have my back and tried to steer me to do an illegal back door move to get a leave of absence. During the end of 2013 I had a conversation with then Chief Operating Officer Daniele Coll-Gonzalez about possibly getting my seniority back. She told me in so many words that I was lucky to get back in the door at RTS. I applied to be a road supervisor for when the Transit Center opened up late November 2014. I didn’t get an interview because I didn’t have enough experience. Were they judging me from 2010-2013 or from 2013 forward? Then some people were hired to road supervisor positions that had less seniority then I had--even dating back to my 2013 re-hire date. I don’t know--maybe they had some kind of military background. Because of my situation I was ridiculed by my peers. Some of my peers who had less seniority then me before I left would see me and address me as "Rookie." One driver said that he didn’t recognize me without my firefighter turn-out gear on. Some drivers who became road supervisors would routinely ask me if I became a full-time bus operator yet knowing that they asked me the same question the day before. Employment Practices Manager Lisa Tommasini actually laughed at my situation to my face along with someone who currently works in scheduling. Lisa said, “What's the matter Abasi? The fire department was too much for you to carry?” Lisa and the other lady, who shall remain nameless for now, giggled and walked away. Lisa did my exit interview when I resigned from RTS the first time. The scheduling lady would routinely ask to see my new badge number to see how far I fell in seniority. Everybody seemed to have jokes. Then sometime in early 2015, employees around the company were saying Chief Operating Officer Daniele Coll-Gonzalez was forced to retire due to having an inappropriate relationship with a bus operator who she later gave a road supervisor position to that he was not qualified for. That road supervisor was fired. RTS has not gone public with this information. But in a work environment like mine, it’s hard to keep that kind of thing a secret. Then another road supervisor was fired for allegedly showing nude pictures of the director of compensation and benenfits to his coworkers.The director, who shall remain nameless, was allowed to resign in August 2015. There are more people in authority positions who are on the cusp of termination for inappropriate behavior and they shall remain nameless for now.
In 2014, I wrote the International Union President Larry Hanley a letter about my situation. I explained how I pay union dues but my local union president (Jaques Chapman) didn’t represent me well and steered me to doing something illegal so that he didn’t have to face the situation. I wrote, “President Jacques Chapman shouldn’t be allowed to crawl back into the dark and act like this situation didn’t exist.” On December 1, 2014 I received a reply from Lawrence J. Hanley. He stated that the issues I raised in my letter are local matters and that he doesn’t have any authority to take any action. So basically he was going to stay out of it. But he didn’t because he either showed Jacques my letter or told him the contents. I know this because I have a taped conversation with Jacques on January 28, 2015 were he almost quotes a line from my letter. Say; “I guess I’ll go crawl back into the dark.”
I have another taped recording with Jacques on May 5, 2015 were he asks me why I didn’t lie to the company like he told me to do. He also tells me how he didn’t appreciate me throwing under the bus by discussing our conversation with Larry Hanley.
On June 9, 2015 I had a lawyer write Jacques requesting a copy of the letter that he was supposed to write the Company on my behave to receive a leave of absence. On June 23, 2015 their lawyer wrote my lawyer back saying that no such request for a leave of absence was made. On May 5, 2015 I had a taped conversation with Chief Executive Bill Carpenter about the issue I had at RTS. I told him that Daniele Coll-Gonzalez’s actions and other in positions of authority have made me feel insecure about the fairness of how system is run here at RTS. I went on to say that I tried many avenues within the system to get justice. But my calls have been ignored and that I was thinking about going to the media to be heard. He asked me if this was a threat. I said no. He said that my actions may result in slander and that they have a policy against talking to the media. I told him that a real threat would be to sue you (RTS). I’m not asking you (RTS) for anything. I talked to you before via email and you told me your hands are tied due to the laws of the contract. He suggested that I call the New York State Division of Human Rights. I asked to see RTS's policy against talking to the media. I told him that I’m talking about my personal situation and how I feel affected by this toxic environment of deceit and back room deals that leaves the little guy hanging. Chief People & Brand Officer Maryalice Keller escorted me out of Bill’s office. She took my email address and suggested that I get a lawyer. She also wrote down the number to the NYS Division of Human Rights and later emailed me the policy against talking to the media.
But the Policy made no mention of punishment/threats for doing so. I called her and asked for more details. She basically said that there are no more details to give--just that the company would prefer that I don’t talk to the media. But if I could find some media outlet to take that story, “Go ahead.”
Side bar: I am a member of Legal Shield. They are a company that charges you a monthly fee to put you in contact with lawyers at a discounted price for legal help. I wanted to look into if the University of Rochester medical team who does work for the Rochester Fire Department was liable for not diagnosing me with a hernia before giving me a clean bill of health to the join the academy. Legal Shield put me in touch with Dibble & Miller attorneys and counselors at law. They started working with me on November 24, 2014. I brought them a lot of documents that I already purchased from the City of Rochester. They charged me a $1,500 retainer fee and proceeded to bleed me dry until the retainer was all done in April of 2015. Then the lawyer who was working on my potential case named Craig D. Chartier told me that I didn’t have a case because of a document that I signed with the U of R. But it is the same document that I brought to him in November 2014. He could have told me this six months ago.
I took them to Arbitration with the Bar Association case number 15-025(434) to get my money back. Because of that, the law firm is charging me an extra $600. I also have taped conversations with the law firm showing their contradictions.
I have a hearing Wednesday, August 26, 2015, 2pm, at the Monroe County Bar Association (One West Main St., 10th floor).
All of this being said, I feel that it is time to bring to the light of justice to what couldn’t be resolved in darkness, while others are willing to accept the status quo and live like Of Mice & Men. I’m willing to accept whatever crucifixion that RTS and others might try to throw my way by shedding light on the situation. I’ll be your Jesus. I thank Rochester Indymedia and the Independent Media Center Network for standing with me and giving a voice to the so called voiceless and doing what other media outlets wouldn’t do or are too scared to do.
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