Among the familiar sites of Times Square, the red double-deckers of Gray Line compete with the blue CitySights buses for the attention of the city's 47 million tourists.
"It's the city itself," said tour guide Mensan Kinvi, 39. "If you feel that you can make them understand the city, it's pretty exciting."
The ongoing recession has meant a reduction in tips, but guides and ticket sellers appear upbeat, having just elected one of their own to sit on the executive board of Local 225 of the Transport Workers Union, the union representing Gray Line's tour guides, bus drivers and ticket sellers.
"The fact that Mensan did what he did is really wonderful," said Acting Shop Steward Traci Marlowe. "I am so proud of him. He can be a bridge between the ticket agents and the company," said Marlowe.
Ticket sellers make their money by commission, receiving around 10 percent from every ticket sold. In the past, they also were paid $90 per day in winter. This has since been reduced to $40. Based on seniority, some sellers receive locations close to Gray Line's 777 8th Avenue office, while others take the subway to more distant locations, such as Battery Park.
"The company does not give them a MetroCard anymore," said Kinvi. "They have to pay out of pocket."
Among tour guides, the top issues include adequate times for breaks, working hours and communication with union leadership. Last December, some of the guides staged "informational pickets" in Times Square to inform the public of their grievances.
A short, modest figure, Kinvi does not appear as the type to picket and shout into bullhorns, but his experience says otherwise.
Ticket seller Komla Agouda knew Kinvi in Togo and remembers him as a particularly outspoken neighbor. "He is somebody who likes politics and working with people," said Agouda. "Even here, he was the first chairman of TAUP."
Founded in 2006, Togolese Americans United for Progress (TAUP) is a nonprofit formed to assist Togolese immigrants and support communities back home.
"Any time that a Togolese comes to America, they come to us on how to live here, find jobs and get advice," said Agouda.
At the same time, many local Togolese remain unsure of their future. Some seek to return to a familiar home with the money earned in America. Others eventually adjust to their new homes and apply for citizenship.
Kinvi believes that more than half of the ticket agents at Gray Line are Togolese, making them the most visible group. Like many of his countrymen, Kinvi stumbled upon Gray Line four years ago, while walking through Times Square and seeing fellow Togolese immigrants at work.
"They told me to go to the office on 45th Street and apply," Kinvi said. "[The management] said they did not need ticket sellers, they needed tour guides."
Kinvi then took classes offered by Gray Line in tour guide trivia and within nine days passed the sightseeing guide license exam administered by the city.
"If you're used to doing research and understanding how the city works, you will get it," said Kinvi.
Prior to the exam, he worked in a printing shop. Like many of his Togolese co-workers, he received a college education in Togo, where he worked as a consultant with a background in sociology.
"I used to do surveys, marketing studies and programs for community development," said
Kinvi. He recorded the Togolese socio-political scene in "Discours ma Génération." The French-language book was published in Paris in 2006 under the name Michel Kinvi, which is Mensan's French Christian name.
"The book is in the repertoire of more than three universities in Europe," said Kinvi.
When he immigrated six years ago, he easily obtained his visa to work in the United States. This eventually led to a permanent residency, but Kinvi remains unsure on whether to apply for citizenship or to return to Togo.
"If you ask the ticket sellers, they are going back to Togo soon," said Kinvi. "They work hard, make money and return back home for the good life. It's a cultural thing. If you're above 30 before coming here, you will not feel totally like a part of this place."
Like their jobs, many local Togolese also share the same neighborhoods, largely settling in the poorest sections of the western Bronx, attending services in storefront churches and mosques. Prior to their arrival, these neighborhoods already had large African-American populations.
"They are our brothers," said ticket seller Welessi Blao. "Even if they are not from Africa, they are our brothers." While their cultural differences span a 300-year gap, Blao said that walking down a Bronx street, "I'm not going to be scared of them, and they're not going to be scared of me."
Among the other winners of the union election, tour guide Karen Fleming, an African American, was elected president of Local 225, which also represents bus drivers at Short Line, New York University and New Jersey Transit.
"The ticket agents want to know that the union is there," said Fleming. "[Mensan] just brought that group in and opened up our eyes. We now have a better understanding of who they are as a people."
While some ticket agents have voted in previous union elections, the numbers for the September 23 vote are unprecedented. Among the 59 percent of employees who voted, there are 104 ticket agents and 123 tour guides.
For New York's Togolese, the emergence of their own labor leader represents a wider consensus.
Initially reluctant to run, he first polled his colleagues about running. "They said, 'If you think you can be useful to us, why not?'"
Outside of Gray Line, there are high hopes for Kinvi. Djounedou Titikpina, of the Bronx-based African People Alliance, praised Kinvi for his leadership potential.
"Mensan is a young, brave guy who is not afraid to tell the truth," said Titikpina.
