Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource "Voices That Must Be Heard" Articles Description An account of the resource The Independent Press Association (IPA) translates articles from the ethnic press (when necessary) and distributes them via web and fax newsletter to mainstream and ethnic press, government offices, nonprofits, and interested individuals. Voices That Must be Heard was designed by the Independent Press Association staff in New York City in response to the horrifying events of September 11. After Sept. 11th, Voices focused on the South Asian, Arab and Middle Eastern communities in New York. Since February 2002, the project has expanded, selecting articles from the broad range of ethnic and community newspapers throughout the city. Here, the Archive has preserved the Voices collection from its inception until November 2002. VTMBH Article VTMBH Article: Edition 44 VTMBH Article: Article Order 1 VTMBH Article: Title Deaths of two Indian subway workers in two days shocks community in New York VTMBH Article: Author George Joseph VTMBH Article: Publication India Abroad VTMBH Article: Original Language English VTMBH Article: Translator VTMBH Article: Section news VTMBH Article: Blurb According to union officials, the deaths of two subway workers could have been prevented had the MTA assigned flag workers to alert oncoming trains. Both Indian men had families in the U.S., who bid them farewell at funerals attended by hundreds of people. VTMBH Article: Keywords VTMBH Article: Body The deaths of two subway workers, in two consecutive days in New York, have shocked the Indian community. The deaths of Joy Antony, 41, a signal maintenance worker on Nov. 21, and Kurian Baby, 57, a lighting maintenance helper, the next day, drew protests against the Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA) for ignoring the security of 2,000 track workers. Antony was hit by a train near the 96th Street and Broadway station in Manhattan at 11 a.m. Baby was struck by a train at the Canal Street Station in Manhattan just before 11 p.m. the next day. Both deaths could have been prevented had the transit authority assigned someone to watch out for trains while the workers were on the tracks, the Transport Workers Union Local 100 said. The deaths forced the agency to stop track work for 24 hours. When work resumed, agency officials agreed temporarily to allow a person to accompany track workers to flag in trains. The flag-in workers sole responsibility will be to alert train operators about workers in the track. We wanted this to be permanent, but the authorities are not agreeing to that, said Dave Katzman, a spokesman for Local 100. We have asked train operators to be extra careful. It is a shame two people had to die for such a rule, he said. The investigation into the cause of the accidents continues, a city transit spokesperson told India Abroad four days after the accident. Antony was part of a two-man crew performing a routine test of a track circuit when the accident occurred. While he was testing the circuit, a second man worked at the relay panel. He was in the middle of the two tracks and there was nobody to alert him about the oncoming train, relatives and union officials said. Baby was part of a five-member crew assigned to clean and repair fixtures. He was placing a flashing yellow light in the tunnel south of the Canal Street Station to warn train operators that workers were on the tracks when he was hit. The wake and funerals were attended by hundreds of people. Transit Authority President Lawrence G. Reuter, union members and others bid farewell to their colleagues. Antony, who came to the United States in 1993 from Thodupuzha in Kerala, joined the MTA in 1999. An electrical engineer, he bought a house in New City, Rockland County, six months ago. His wife Jessy is a hospital employee and they have two children, Alvin, 7, and Alan, 4. The note Alvin placed in his fathers coffin read: Dear Dad, I will be good to mom. I will be nice to Alan. School is going good. I will visit you at the graveyard. What is it like in heaven? Baby, who received his engineering degree from TKM Engineering College in Quilon, Kerala, worked with the Kerala State Electricity Board for 20 years. Even though his family in India owned a tea estate and he held a good job, Baby thought better opportunities could be at hand in America. He came to the United States in 1988 and began to work on the subway after a year of working odd jobs. The family lives in Queens Village on Long Island. His widow, Mariamma, works in a factory nearby. They have two sons Binu, 27, and Bijo, 18, who attends Brooklyn Technical School. After the funerals, union and agency officials discussed the safety issue. Roger Toussaint, president of Local 100, said each crew, no matter how small, should have a flagger. We want members to come back home safely. We want no more deaths. We have had 20 fatalities in 20 years, he said. John Samuelson, the Local 100 official who represents track workers, said Antony was between the uptown and downtown express tracks. No flag-in lights were in place to warn train drivers about the workers presence. He called the absence of such lights a violation of New York City transit safety rules. Under the rules, drivers are required to slow trains to 10 miles per hour from 35 to 40 miles per hour on seeing flag-in lights. A train passing at high speed creates a powerful air current in the tracks, particularly when trains are passing on both sides, he added. The 2,000 men and women who maintain New York Citys subway tracks are the only track workers in the state who are not covered by Federal Railroad Administration safety rules. VTMBH Article: Line Breaks 1 VTMBH Article: Date 2002-12-06 VTMBH Article: Thumb VTMBH Article: Article File VTMBH Article: Hit Count 93 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Deaths of two Indian subway workers in two days shocks community in New York 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. unknown Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. article Original Name The original name of this item. According to union officials, the deaths of two subway workers could have been prevented had the MTA Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-12-06