On October 26, Bernard Gribbin, a U.S. military veteran, was killed while driving a bus in North Philadelphia. The passenger came up to him without warning and shot him six times, with time between shots to check if Gribbin was still dead.
A few weeks ago, Babu Singh, a 74-year-old grandfather and a subway station attendant in New York City, was standing on the platform when a man attacked him from behind without warning. The assailant punched Singh in the head, knocked him to the ground and kicked him multiple times. Mr Singh suffered a cut above his right eye, and his nose and other facial bones were also fractured.
In Ann Arbor, Michigan, a confused bus passenger grabbed a fire extinguisher from inside the vehicle and threatened to hit the bus driver, Sania Coleman, who was sitting behind the wheel in shock and fear.
Across the country, transit workers face outrageous attacks and abuse every day. They are harassed, threatened, spat on, beaten and even shot.
According to data from the Federal Transit Administration (FTA), there were more than 345 assaults against transit workers in 2021, including bus drivers, station staff, track workers, cleaners and other transit workers who just reported to work.
However, the reality is even more frightening. That 2021 data comes from outdated federal reporting metrics that vastly underestimate the number of assaults and completely ignores the many embarrassing incidents that result in physical or psychological trauma.
That number is likely to jump further later this year when data collected under stricter reporting requirements is released.
But whatever the true numbers, it is clear beyond a shadow of a doubt that this epidemic of violence against this vital workforce requires federal action.
That’s why the Transportation Workers Union of America welcomed the FTA’s recent General Assault Directive on urban transit agencies. Once finalized, this first-of-its-kind directive will require all such government agencies in the country to take several measures, including:
• Analyze the causes of attacks in your system.
• Use analysis to develop plans to work with frontline workers to prevent violence.
• Submit both the analysis and safety plan to the FTA so that further safety measures can be developed.
This directive was preceded by active advocacy by the TWU and our trade union alliance, and is a good first step. Such government directives are common for all other modes of transportation as safety regulators work to address national threats across various regions.
But going forward, the FTA will need to ensure that authorities actually involve workers in the process. No one knows the transportation environment and its safety risks better than the workers who provide bus, subway and tram services and interact with passengers every night of the week.
FTA also needs to ensure that an agency’s safety plan is not just a document sitting on a shelf gathering dust. Agencies need to implement concrete improvements to better protect their employees, rather than just sketching out ideas and making empty promises.
Regulators have enforcement mechanisms. The directive states that violations could result in a reduction in federal funding.
That’s not all.
Congress directed the FTA in 2015 to establish minimum safety standards to prevent assault.
The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021 included FTA requirements related to mandatory labor-management safety committees and government oversight. These rulemaking tasks must be prioritized and completed by the FTA.
Federal action won’t come soon. Violence in many systems has reached a stage where both workers and passengers actively withdraw in fear for their safety. Nationwide, transit ridership is on average only 77% of pre-pandemic levels, while at the same time struggling to hire and retain workers. These pressures could push many government agencies to the brink of financial crisis and devastate local economies. Unless our transportation systems become safer, many government agencies will face major service cuts. This is a financial solution that increases congestion, increases waiting times, and reduces the value of public transport. In short, this economic expediency is likely to exacerbate the problem and start a downward spiral that drives even more workers and passengers out of these systems.
Equally important, federal action is needed to stop widespread suffering and pain.
After all, Bernard Gribbin, Babu Singh, and Sania Coleman are more than just statistics. These are victims who could have gone to work unscathed and returned to their families.
John Samuelsen is president of the International Transport Workers Union.
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