TWU dissident allegedly beat aide as ‘a message for Roger’
By PETE DONOHUE
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER

A burly transit union dissident has been charged with beating a union staffer aligned with Transport Workers Union Local 100 President Roger Toussaint, the Daily News has learned.

“This is a message for Toussaint,” assault suspect Christopher Magwood, 46, allegedly told victim James Mahoney during the incident at a Manhattan bus depot, Mahoney said yesterday.

Magwood - who is about 6-feet-3 and weighs around 300 pounds - was arrested this month on misdemeanor assault and harassment charges, Manhattan prosecutors confirmed yesterday.

He is a bus driver who sits on Local 100’s executive board. But Magwood has ties to a previous administration that lost power when Toussaint was elected, and he regularly opposes the union boss.

Mahoney - about 5-feet-5 and 180 pounds - works on retiree issues for Toussaint and organized protests leading up to last month’s illegal three-day transit strike.

The alleged TWU smackdown is among the topics the executive board is expected to discuss today at its first meeting since workers rejected a tentative contract deal by just seven votes this month.

Ironic that after all the outrage over Mayor Bloomberg calling the union a bunch of thugs for stranding 7 million commuters during the height of the holiday season that they’ve taken to actually being more thuggish. I wonder if someone calls a 300 pound ox who beats up a little guy a thug.

Or is it racist to use the word thug?

I also notice they fail to mention the respective races of the people involved. I’m not too uncertain about Mahoney’s race. Magwood, on the other hand, could be anything. Makes you wonder…

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