Photo credit – Matt Meduri
In an effort spearheaded by a Marine Corps Veteran, and a long-time employee of the Suffolk Transportation Service (STS)., the municipal employer has unveiled Veterans patches able to be worn by all employees who have served in the Armed Forces.
Luis Mercado, Chairman of the Veterans Committee within the Suffolk Bus Corp. has been in talks with the STS and leadership of the Transportation Workers Union (TWU) in allowing Veterans to be recognized by riders and fellow Veterans alike. In 2014, Mercado became a union delegate and realized that the STS did not have a Veterans Committee. TWU Local 252 President Debra Hagan told Mercado that he could start the committee and that he’d serve as its chairman.
Since then, Mercado has registered 678 Veterans within the company.
Mercado said that when Veterans Day comes around, he thought there should be some type of identifier for the Veteran transit workers.
“Our Veterans should be identified and something should be noted,” Mercado told The Messenger. Mercado says that after a few years of deliberation, the committee brought up the idea to TWU Local 252 and STS President and CEO John Corrado.
“It should be an honor for Veterans to be recognized in the workplace. So, we came up with different ideas about hats and patches, and the patch is the one we decided to use,” said Mercado.
The patch is an American flag with the word “VETERAN” labeled underneath. The patch can be worn on any outer garment by an STS worker.
“From now on, when we order our uniforms, if we put in a note for a Veterans patch, the manufacturer knows to put those patches on shirts, jackets, or sweaters,” said Mercado.
Mercado served four years with the Marine Corps and has been with STS for seventeen years. Mercado also served seventeen years in the Navy Reserves. Mercado was joined at the Suffolk Bus Corp. last Thursday by fellow Veterans and transit workers, including Walter Lacey, who served six years in the Army and has served thirty-three years with Suffolk transit, and Vincent Williams, who served four years in the Marine Corps and has been with Suffolk transit for eighteen.
Additionally, TWU Local 252 President Debra Hagan, Suffolk Bus Corp. President Corrado, Suffolk Bus Corp. Assistant Vice President John Corrado, Jr., Suffolk Bus Corp. Transit Director Angelo Carbone, and Suffolk County Legislator Nick Caracappa (C-Selden) joined the Veterans for the patch unveiling.
“I support this measure 100%. I think it’s a great recognition of our men and women who have served this country,” Legislator Caracappa, Chair of the Veterans Committee, told The Messenger. “If you’re going to have the American flag on your uniform, why not recognize a Veteran for all they’ve done for our country, all they’ve done to create our freedoms, which were anything but free?”
Caracappa added that he would “support every municipality going forward with this initiative.”
“I would encourage more unions to negotiate if they’re required to wear uniforms, to have both the American flag and for any veterans that may be employed,” said Caracappa. “I think it’s inspirational to other companies, whether municipalities, whether public or private, it doesn’t matter. They should all be in support and recognition of our Veterans.”
Caracappa said that he will be “certain to carry this forward,” and that he is “certain it will take off” in other unions and municipalities.
“I’m encouraged by it and I’m really thrilled by it,” he added.
Caracappa also says that recognizing Veterans can often correlate to recognizing a dependable worker.
“People who served in our military are disciplined; they know what it takes,” said Caracappa. “They’re trained, not only in many different fields, but in teamwork. Dedication, honor, and working together with other people to get the job done: that’s exactly what employers should be looking for in hiring someone.”
TWU Local 252 President Debra Hagan said that Suffolk County is the first county in the country to honor their Veterans this way.
Hagan, Corrado, Carbone, and Caracappa joined several mechanics in the garage bay in Ronkonkoma to learn more about the needs of Suffolk’s transit workers and the mass transit system at large.
Mechanics discussed how many of the buses are outdated and were not built to run the half-a-million-plus miles that they have. Remediating the buses and increasing the interoperability between all forms of mass transit have been priorities of Suffolk County Executive Ed Romaine (R-Center Moriches).
