BLOODY TRANSIT BEEF
MTA union critic & veep busted in Bronx subway station brawl
A long-running beef in the union representing New York bus and subway workers turned into a bloody brawl.
MTA conductor Tramell Thompson and union Vice President Canella Gomez were busted after a fistfight Tuesday night in the crew room of the Bedford Park Blvd. subway station in the Bronx, police said.
Thompson — a vocal critic of Transport Workers Union Local 100 leadership — punched Gomez in the face during an argument, police sources said.
Gomez, 42, was conducting union business by information on a bulletin board when Thompson, 41, swung at him, a Transport Workers Union spokesman told the Daily News.
Thompson took two swings at Gomez and missed before landing a punch to the union leader’s face, said police.
Gomez hit back, kicking and punching Thompson before holding him down on the floor. Meanwhile, one of two other MTA employees in the room called police, according to an MTA incident report obtained by The News.
Thompson suffered bleeding on his face and an injury to his knee, the report said. Police said neither man required medical attention.
Thompson, who has made a name for himself as a vocal critic of the MTA and Local 100’s negotiating tactics, has posted multiple YouTube videos blasting Gomez’s leadership in recent weeks.
“He’s not fit for his position,” Thompson said of Gomez in his most recent video.
The video, which is more than an hour long, is titled, “Who does the Local 100 administration work for ... The members or management?!”
Thompson has previously run for union leadership and lost, a TWU spokesman said.
Local 100 President Richard Davis defended Gomez’s actions in a statement.
“Vice President Gomez acted in self-defense after being sucker-punched,” Davis said. “He then restrained conductor Thompson and directed that transit supervision and the police be called.”
Neither Thompson nor Gomez replied to a request for comment. Both men were charged with misdemeanor assault and released.