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Read the press release here.

VIDEO: Transit Union Ad Campaign Demands Mayor 'Pay Fair Share' for MTA

By Katherine Lavacca | July 26, 2017 3:56pm
 Mayor Bill de Blasio has refused to pay for the proposed MTA emergency action plan.
Mayor Bill de Blasio has refused to pay for the proposed MTA emergency action plan.
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Mayoral Photography Office

MANHATTAN — The union for MTA workers wants to hold Mayor Bill de Blasio accountable for the crumbling transit system with a new ad campaign aimed at putting the heat on Hizzoner.

Transportation Workers Union Local 100 says de Blasio needs to stop playing politics and match the state funds Governor Andrew Cuomo has promised to provide for infrastructure repairs and transit system updates.

“The mayor can’t run and he can’t hide from his responsibility,” union president John Samuelsen said. “This is a crisis. The riders, who are the mayor’s constituents, are suffering. We need real leadership, not finger pointing and political posturing.”

De Blasio refused to cough up the remaining $456 million needed for the MTA's proposed emergency action plan at a press conference Tuesday evening held on the City Hall R/W subway platform, saying the state already has the funds.

The mayor reiterated those statements at an unrelated event Wednesday, saying the MTA "has been historically inefficient" and that it needs to "own up to its responsibility." 

The union's elected officials and members showed support of the action plan on Wednesday at the MTA’s monthly board meeting. The ad campaign is set to launch Thursday with a commercial featuring commuters demanding de Blasio pay his fair share.  

Tony Utano, TWU Local 100 Vice President of the Maintenance of Way, said if de Blasio continues to refuse to kick in funds, MTA board members appointed by the mayor should resign.

“Without financial support from the state —and the city— riders will be forced to suffer through more delays, more breakdowns and more misery,” he said.