On the heels of Mayor Michael Bloomberg, transit union TWU Local 100 president Roger Toussaint will tour London's transit system with other Transport Workers Union International leaders. The union heads said the trip is a research mission. From a press release:
Leaders of the Transport Workers Union next week get an up-close look at the new security measures implemented by the London transit system in the wake of the 2005 subway bombings that killed 52 people. TWU International President James Little, will lead a delegation that includes Roger Toussaint, president of Local 100 in New York and Jeff Brooks, president of Local 234 in Philadelphia also International Ex VP, Harry Lombardo and International Transit Director Hubert Snead. “New York has done a lot of research and other major U.S. cities are looking to determine what measures should be taken to protect rail and bus systems,” Little said. “We will be looking at the positive aspects, as well as the pitfalls, associated with the new London security systems, including the underground.”
The TWU delegation will be meeting with their counterparts with the British National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT) and with officials of the International Transportation Federation, visiting the London Underground workplace and a bus garage, among other stops.
The tour by the TWU leaders follows by one week a visit to London by New York Mayor Mike Bloomberg, who on Wednesday called for installation of multiple security cameras on all MTA buses and subway cars, similar to the system now in place in London.
“The safety and security of our passengers is foremost in our minds,” Toussaint said, “so we’re going to keep an open mind as we look at what they’re doing in London. We want to make sure we can prevent what the British people experienced with the subway bombing in 2005.”
