Steve Burns
WASHINGTON – (WMAL) Citing a record number of assaults against bus operators, station agents, and other transit employees, Amalgamated Transit Union Local 689, representing most of WMATA’s employees, are wearing bracelets today with the hashtag “Transit Lives Matter” on them.
“In 2015, operator assaults reached an all-time high,” said Union spokesman David Stephen. “There seems to be an environment where some unruly passengers don’t believe they’ll face real consequence of they are to create an incident.”
Stephen cited 170 reported incidents in 2014. They included slapping, punching, spitting, gun crossfire, and a station agent getting stabbed at the Stadium-Armory station.
“That’s one of the things we’re hoping we can get addressed with management; that there is some consistency with the way the law is enforced, that there isn’t a great deal of leniency,” Stephen said. “Fare evasion is epidemic in this system. It’s the catalyst in a lot of cases that will begin these type of assaults.”
Stephen praised WMATA’s response, noting the union and WMATA will meet for a third time this weekend at Metro Headquarters to address the violence.
“Anytime you create an unsafe environment for an operator or a station manager, you are therefore creating an unsafe environment for riders in that system,” Stephen said. “That is why we’re waging this fight.”
In a statement to WMAL, Metro spokesman Morgan Dye said “Ensuring the safety and security of our customers and employees is a top priority, and we agree with the union that no employee should be the victim of assault simply for doing his or her job. We are committed to an ongoing dialogue about how we can ensure the safety of our employees, and look forward to an upcoming symposium where we will hear employee concerns and work to develop additional prevention measures.”
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