14R bus on Mission street
The 14R on Mission near 22nd. Photo by Abraham Rodriguez.

The executive board of the San Francisco branch of the Transport Workers Union last week unanimously voted to remove its president, Roger Marenco, from office, and ban him for three years. 

While the official reason given in a Dec. 8 letter to union members was opaque, multiple sources said that Marenco was accused of using racially derogatory language toward his fellow executive board members — and doing so in writing. 

“A complaint was filed by a member of TWU Local 250A against President Roger Marenco. The Executive Board investigated the charges, evidence was uncovered, and a trial was held on December 7th, 2022,” reads the letter sent to union members the next day. 

“During the trial, evidence was presented, witnesses spoke and Roger Marenco was allowed to defend himself and cross examine witnesses. … the Executive Board unanimously voted to take appropriate action and removed Roger Marenco as the President of TWU Local 250A and suspend Roger Marenco for three years. Roger Marenco will not be allowed to run for office in 2022.” 

The professed reason given for this action was Marenco’s alleged violation of the union’s constitution, article XIX — and, specifically “enumerated acts” f, g, j and n. 

Specifically, those acts include “Willfully wronging a member of the International Union,” “Using abusive language or disturbing the peace or harmony of any meeting in or around any office or meeting place of the International Union or Local Union,” “Using the name of the Local Union or of the International Union, or its emblem, for any unauthorized purpose” and “By act, omission or conduct prejudicing or damaging the interests and welfare of the International Union.”

“His actions were unbecoming of an officer,” concludes the Dec. 8 letter. 

Marenco denied the charge that he’d written a note with derogatory language on it. He claimed the action undertaken by his executive board was illegal, that it was improper to forbid him from running for president, and that the number of votes necessary to oust him had not been reached. He pledged to appeal the decision to the international parent union.

Marenco was elected in 2018, in a lopsided vote, when he was 35. A city lifer and Mission High School graduate, Marenco said his top priority was bringing “dignity” to the city’s unionized transit workers. 

TWU members are voting on their president and other executive board members today. Marenco’s successor and fellow union officers will be installed next month.  

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Managing Editor/Columnist. Joe was born in San Francisco, raised in the Bay Area, and attended U.C. Berkeley. He never left.

“Your humble narrator” was a writer and columnist for SF Weekly from 2007 to 2015, and a senior editor at San Francisco Magazine from 2015 to 2017. You may also have read his work in the Guardian (U.S. and U.K.); San Francisco Public Press; San Francisco Chronicle; San Francisco Examiner; Dallas Morning News; and elsewhere.

He resides in the Excelsior with his wife and three (!) kids, 4.3 miles from his birthplace and 5,474 from hers.

The Northern California branch of the Society of Professional Journalists named Eskenazi the 2019 Journalist of the Year.

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3 Comments

  1. It looks like Marenco did not tell the reporter about the other charge against him regarding sharing an inappropriate video of a union member with other union members.

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  2. Marenco has long been sought after by all media outlets as a spokesperson for SFMTA issues

    I am surprised it has taken this long to discover his true side.

    He was removed during the last negotiations and was replaced by national Union reps to finish the negotiations.

    The media is guilty of enabling his antics.

    It is time for the media to start connecting the dots that they create.

    As with chickens when one falls they all start pecking, that is our current media.

    He is a charlatan as well.

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