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Remembering Harold “Sonny” Hall, Transport Workers Union (TWU) International President Emeritus

Posted February 2022

Sonny Hall, a powerful leader in transportation labor and in labor-management partnerships, passed away last month in his home town of New York City. He was a compassionate and effective advocate for all workers, especially those who had been excluded from opportunities to fully develop their skills and knowledge in the workplace. Without Sonny there would never have been the International Transportation Learning Center that we have today.

As President of the Transport Workers Union of America and also of the AFL-CIO Transportation Trades Department, Sonny provided essential leadership in consolidating the small group of national leaders who came together to launch the International Transportation Learning Center in early 2000. After agreeing with ITLC founding director Brian Turner that a jointly sponsored national transit training partnership was needed, Sonny personally recruited APTA President Bill Millar (with help from Beverly Scott) and ATU International President Jim LaSala in a small first meeting in Washington DC. With Sonny’s leadership they agreed to co-sponsor a national training center jointly directed by the industry’s top leaders from around the country representing both management and labor.

Sonny was the elected president of TWU international from 1993 to 2004 – the third longest period of service in that role, exceeded only TWU’s by founding president, Mike Quill and Quill’s successor and fellow Irish American, Matt Guinan. As current TWU International President and ITLC board member John Samuelsen has said, “Sonny was one of the last direct links to Mike Quill and the founders of TWU. He was an anchor for the TWU, and his departure will be deeply felt.” ATU International President and ITLC Board Chair John Costa also fondly remembered Sonny: “Sonny’s death is a real loss for the labor movement. He will be remembered for his dedication, commitment and tireless effort to improve the lives of transportation workers and their families.”

Beverly Scott, CEO of a number of transit agencies over the years and a former chair of APTA’s board of directors and another leader of ITLC, shared a deep appreciation of Sonny. “Sonny was a remarkable person. There was no way we would have been able to accomplish all that we have on transit workforce training without Sonny. . . He was a leader who really understood the people. And he went out of his way to make sure management really understood people too. He had courage. He was one of those giants. It was an honor to work with him.”

Sonny rose through the ranks of TWU Local 100 in New York City, starting as a bus cleaner in the early 1950s. In 1985 he was elected President of the 50,000-member local, the biggest in the industry. Among his proudest accomplishment as president of Local 100 was successfully advocating and ultimately negotiating in 1991 the union-based Union Assistance Program that provides confidential, non-punitive assistance to workers fighting substance abuse problems. Even before becoming Local president he led a successful effort to require that new rail cars for NY MTA be built in New York State, blocking the import of illegally subsidized rail cars from Japan. He expanded the union’s political action program and worked effectively with other industry leaders to promote needed transit funding.

Sonny was committed to assuring respect for every TWU member and indeed for every worker. He was especially devoted to assuring opportunities for those who had been unfairly excluded in the past. One of his favorite memories was the story of the first black bus driver in the MTA system, brought on during the Korean war:

The new driver’s first week on the job went off without controversy. But trouble arose on Friday afternoon when he lined up in the bus depot next to the more senior drivers to receive his paycheck. The Irish-born depot manager handed each driver his check, but when he got to the new black driver, he dropped his paycheck on the floor, saying, “Pick it up.” The depot’s chief TWU shop steward, equally Irish-born, stepped between the two men and said to the manager, “No. You pick it up.” Within an hour the union had shut down every bus and train in the city. The mayor and Mike Quill both went to the depot to try to fix the situation. Told what had happened, the mayor said, “For God’s sake, I’ll pick it up.” But Quill said, “No. You won’t. He will,” pointing to the depot manager.

Sonny Hall was a great leader and a first-class human being. We will miss him as we continue to try to fulfill his vision of transit systems that work for everybody.