occupy wall street

Transport Workers Union Has No Interest in Moving Arrested Protesters

The logistical complications involved in arresting some 700 protesters on the Brooklyn Bridge left the cops in a lurch, so they simply took over some MTA buses and drove the perps to precincts across the city. But that’s not part of the job description for bus drivers, the Transport Workers Union claims. Today they’ll take the NYPD to court: “TWU Local 100 supports the protesters on Wall Street and takes great offense that the mayor and NYPD have ordered operators to transport citizens who were exercising their constitutional right to protest — and shouldn’t have been arrested in the first place,” said Union President John Samuelsen, who called the police’s power play “a blatant act of political retaliation.” An MTA spokesperson said the agency has “a long history of cooperating with the NYPD and other law enforcement agencies when they require vehicles to perform their duties,” but Samuelsen insists, “Our mission is to provide transit service to the riding public, not transport people who were arrested.” Aren’t livery cabs looking for more business?

TWU blasts city for putting handcuffed Occupy Wall Street protesters on buses [NYDN]

Transport Workers Union Has No Interest in Moving Arrested Protesters