Focus on Wellness:
Safety & Security
Safety and security. The words have become important to ATU members across the United States and Canada. In city after city we hear of the dangers that members face just for doing their jobs.
No longer do buses seem to be a zone of safety in our urban centers. The burgeoning violence in our transit systems comes after several decades of relative calm brought about by a simple idea – “exact change.”
Prior to exact change, bus operators were vulnerable to violence because they were required to carry cash in order to make change for riders paying fares. But when operators were killed during robberies in Baltimore and Washington, DC, in 1968, ATU locals in those cities took matters into their own hands, and refused to drive until exact change systems were put in place. This practice is now virtually universal.
Having taken away the incentive for robbery, assaults on transit workers greatly subsided. But in recent years a new kind of violence has been perpetrated against drivers, mechanics and passengers alike. It does not occur as a result of resisting theft. This violence happens for unpredictable and seemingly senseless reasons.
Ugly Trend
Many became aware of this new, ugly trend in 1998, and 1999, as a result of two tragedies which left a terrible scar on the memories of ATU members.
On November 27, 1998, Mark McLaughlin, 587-Seattle, WA, was shot and killed by a deranged passenger while driving his bus over a bridge. The bus plummeted to the ground below. One passenger died, 32 were injured. The assailant shot and killed himself, denying investigators any clue about his motives.
Just five months later, on April 6, 1999, four Local 279 members in Ottawa were fatally shot when a former OC Transit employee went on a rampage in one of the agency’s garages. Again, the gunman killed himself.
Both incidents shocked the two cities where gun violence had heretofore been relatively rare. The memorial services were attended by large crowds.
These events prompted the ATU to propose a bill that was introduced in Congress which would make it a felony to assault a bus operator or passenger. The legislation stalled in Congress until 2001, when it was passed in the wake of the 9/11 attacks.
The 9/11 disaster added to the worries of transit systems. Worldwide, buses are the most frequent target of terrorists. No longer could anyone say, “It can’t happen here.”
majority of dangerous incidents, however, never make the news. And, most operators can relate stories in which they have been mistreated in some fashion.
DC Members Demonstrate for Safety Changes
In Washington, DC, in February, Local 689 members demonstrated against the Metro system, demanding safer working conditions. The local was responding to a marked increase in assaults on bus operators over the previous two years and the lack of response by the Washington Metropolitan Transit Authority (WMATA).
Three Categories of Violence
Former Local President Mike Golash broke down the violence against DC drivers into three categories:
“First, we encounter direct physical attacks on bus drivers – usually as a result of fare disputes.
“Second, rocks will be thrown at buses.
“And, third, we have kids disabling “CNG” buses by throwing a safety switch on the back of the bus that cuts off fuel to the engine. When the driver goes to the back of the bus to turn the switch back on, he or she gets pelted with tomatoes, etc.”
After the demonstration WMATA became much more responsive to the local’s concerns. The CNG engine problem was solved by putting a new switch inside the bus which operators can throw to allow the bus to move to a safe location before tending to the back of the bus.
The authority has also agreed to install safety glass that won’t shatter when struck by rocks, even though it may diminish visibility.
And in response to physical attacks, WMATA has reorganized the transit police in order to increase their presence on buses.
'Our Members Are Not Fare Collectors'
The local also is attempting to reduce the number of physical altercations by stressing to their members that they are not responsible for making certain that all passengers pay the right fare.
“Our approach,” asserted Golash, “is that our members are not fare collectors. We provide information about fares, but we are not the police, we are drivers.”
And what about an unprovoked assault?’
“We tell our people to defend themselves, throw the person off the bus and call the police,” Golash explained.
Additionally, there are now surveillance cameras on many of the buses as well as an audio system in which operators can radio the sound of what’s happening in the bus back to dispatchers without having to hold anything in their hands.
Beyond these measures, Golash said, the local worked with WMATA to have terminals in unsafe locations moved to safer, better lit areas. And the local and the authority began an outreach program, providing posters and speakers to schools in an effort to discourage vandalism.
However, these are all just “tactics,” Golash insisted. On a strategic level he believes that unions should be a major force in combating the “racism, unemployment, poverty, and drug abuse” which are “at the root of the safety problem.”
Disciplined for Self Defense
The issue of violence on public transit came to a head in Winnipeg where an ATU driver was been disciplined for defending himself against an attack in 2005. The resulting grievance filed by Local 1505 prompted a series of articles in the Winnipeg Sun.
The incident occurred after a man and a woman boarded a Winnipeg bus. The man threatened the operator, saying that he was going to kill him after the driver pointed out that he did not pay the full fare.
The rider continued in the same vein from the back of the bus; punching his fist into his hand and pointing at the driver. The operator attempted to report the problem to Winnipeg Transit’s control centre, but his radio wasn’t working.
At the end of the line, the man made his move. The operator picked up a “switch iron” and held it horizontally in front of himself, ordering the couple to exit by the back door.
The passenger paid no heed, charging the operator with fists flying. The operator poked the man in the ribs once with the iron, but otherwise simply stood his ground. After three attempts at charging the driver the assailant and his companion finally left.
After the operator filed a report about the event he was suspended for three days without pay, pending investigation. The local filed an immediate grievance and, after witnesses backed up the driver’s story, the suspension was lifted.
However, he was sent to a “counseling and guidance” program – the second stage of a five-stage disciplinary progression. The local grieved again, and that grievance had not been resolved by press time.
‘Are We Supposed to be a Punching Bag?’
Winnipeg Transit management contends that they don’t want operators to use switch irons as weapons, even though drivers have been punched, kicked and stabbed. To which Local President Keith Scott responds, “What! Are we supposed to be punching bags?”
Winnipeg Transit says that around 20 such assaults occur each year. Executive Vice President Jim Girden says these include an incident in which an operator had a bag of feces thrown at him and another in which a driver was bitten!
But Girden adds to these assaults the everyday occurrences which are rarely reported such as verbal abuse, cursing, threats, sexual harassment and being spat upon. When you consider that, unlike Washington, DC, Winnipeg has no transit police, it can get pretty frustrating and frightening to drive a bus.
Disposable Product?
“We are in the business of providing a public service, and we don’t think we deserve to be beaten for doing our job,” Scott asserts. “Sometimes, our members are viewed as a disposable product.”
The changes in society also worry these local officers. The number of driver assaults seems to be increasing and the “triggers” for these incidents seem more and more trivial.
Girden, for instance, wonders why someone would attack an operator because of a fare dispute over a nickel.
In Winnipeg, like Washington, the best protection seems to be to not get into arguments with riders. And that usually means not enforcing fare collection. Unfortunately, in Winnipeg, as in many other places, an operator can be disciplined for that.
As to the assaults perpetrated by those whose only purpose is to do violence to a bus operator, one rule seemed clear to Girden: “Stay on the bus.” As soon as an operator leaves the coach he or she is in a much more vulnerable position. Girden also believes that the federal government should enact much higher penalties for driver assault.
Unfortunately, bus violence is not going to be eradicated anytime soon. It seems clear that locals and their managements will have to work together to tackle this dangerous problem.