TWU 100 President Tony Utano says things are improving, workers are working, and the Democratic governor should be praised for his efforts. | AP Images Cuomo's labor allies defend his record on subway woes

ALBANY — Yes, it’s #CuomosMTA, a union supporting the governor says. And that’s a good thing.

Members of Transport Workers Union Local 100 — which represents employees of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority who drive subway cars and buses — are distributing flyers which they hope will flip the script on a social media meme that has become a major critique of Gov. Andrew Cuomo in his bid for a third term.


Usually, frustrated straphangers turn to #CuomosMTA to vent when a train is delayed, or they’re melting on a platform. Cynthia Nixon, who is challenging Cuomo in a Democratic primary, used it four times on Friday alone.

But TWU 100 President Tony Utano says things are improving, workers are working, and the Democratic governor should be praised for his efforts.

“What Cuomo has done for us, no governor in my time — I’ve been here 40 years — has ever concentrated on putting money into the subway system and fixing it,” Utano told POLITICO. “In reality, [Nixon] can blame the governor for anything, but it’s our people that are repairing and maintaining the subway. So, when you say it’s unsafe to ride, you’re actually attacking the workers.”

On Friday, straphangers were greeted by a front-page spread in the New York Post about commuting pain to come — including this weekend’s partial shutdown of the L train, which runs from Canarsie to the West Village in Manhattan, passing through the hipster haven of Williamsburg.

That's in addition to everyday crowding and delays caused by mechanical failures that, statistics show, have barely improved over the last year.

Still, the flyer declares: “The subway is getting back on track, thanks to Governor Cuomo’s strong leadership.” It contains pictures of Cuomo at photo-ops, inspecting equipment and helping to clean tracks.

"This is so far from New Yorkers' actual experience with the subway, it's like we designed these flyers ourselves as a parody,” said Nixon spokeswoman Lauren Hitt. “No one would agree that 'the subway is getting back on track,' and it's all because the governor refuses to acknowledge his legal responsibility to fund the subway.”

A Cuomo 2018 spokeswoman declined to comment.

While Cuomo made it seem like he alone was responsible for the completion of the Second Avenue Subway, he began deflecting responsibility when delays, service declines and emergency repairs led to last year's "summer of hell" for the region's rail commuters.

On May 18, 2017, Cuomo said the MTA' was a “regional transportation system” in which he simply had “representation on the board.” After a few days of criticism, he insisted he was not “not shirking any responsibility.”

He started to craft a solution. On June 21 of last year, Cuomo nominated Joe Lhota — who helped rebuild the system after Superstorm Sandy — to chair the MTA, although he would not run its day-to-day operations. A week later, the governor declared a “state of emergency” and vowed an infusion of cash that would stabilize service.

Lhota crafted an $836 million “action plan,” but it was greeted with rounds of finger-pointing. The governor tried to make the case that New York City was legally obligated to pay for upgrades of the subway tracks. Variations of that spat continue; in the state budget adopted in late March of this year, state lawmakers included provisions to garnish payments to the city if it didn’t cough up $418 million for subway improvements.

A long-term plan to upgrade the subway, developed by Andy Byford, president of the New York City Transit Authority, which is an MTA subsidiary, remains unfunded.

Cuomo says the city should pay for half of a $30-plus billion improvement plan, and supports a system of congestion pricing for private cars and trucks which builds on a fee levied on for-hire vehicles — like Uber and Lyft — that enter Manhattan south of 60th Street.

De Blasio has opposed congestion pricing, although his position has become more nuanced recently, and has has been outspoken in support of income taxes to fund subway repairs, which Cuomo opposes.

“The question is, who’s going to now fund the $30 billion? Legally, it’s a city obligation because the city owns the New York City Transit Authority. They own the subway system, the law says they pay for the capital repairs. I say, despite the law, I will share the cost,” Cuomo said on July 3. “If the city doesn’t pay, we’re going to have raise fares and I don’t want to raise fares.” (The governor's interpretation of the city's "obligation" has been disputed by, among others, former MTA chair Richard Ravitch.)

Utano said Cuomo's position is a sign of leadership.

“He’s not hiding,” Utano said. “He’s actually in the forefront saying, 'we got to repair it, we’ve got to do it.'”

TWU Local 100’s contract is up for renegotiation next year, with whomever is elected governor. In 2014, Cuomo approved a five-year agreement that raised worker pay by a collective $200 million.

The union has not made a formal endorsement in the race, but has been supportive of Cuomo and has attacked his opponents.