Invest in NYCHA elevator workers

MYour piece about unskilled elevator workers (“Not uplifting for NYCHA,” Nov. 29) reeks of hypocrisy. The examination of the issue is downright one-sided, as it fails to include the vital perspective of the men and women who work on NYCHA elevators day in and day out. As Teamsters Local 237 chapter chair, I represent the NYC municipal elevator workers referenced. I know these more than 400 men and women personally, and I can assure readers that the major issue contributing to shortcomings regarding NYCHA elevators is not a worker issue, but an education and a training issue. In the city’s elevator industry, the playing field is far from level.

NYC municipal elevator workers are small fish in the Teamsters realm. Teamsters 237 represents more than 35,000 rank and file members. I know from firsthand experience that the needs of a few hundred elevator workers are not on Teamsters president Greg Floyd’s radar.

For more than three decades, the elevator “stepchildren” of 237 have lacked a formal training and education program. While thousands of elevator workers in the region thrive as they go through world-class apprenticeship training, NYC municipal elevator workers have been forced to rely on the get-up-and-go of talented individuals, like Ronald Hall, who have stepped up to ensure that they have access to some curricula and on-the-job training.

Just last month, more than 90% voted to join the International Union of Elevator Constructors. Not only would this enhance education opportunities, but it would also help to ensure that NYCHA residents have highly skilled, properly trained men and women on the job at all times. Floyd said, “If a mistake is made someone could die.” He is correct. I hope that he also realizes that safety and training go hand in hand. Guy Thomas