Statement: Bus Operator Safety
(Forestville, Maryland) October 20th, 2022 – Since the recent incident where a passenger was attacked by several other riders on a MetroBus route many have asked for Local 689’s comments on WMATA workplace rules and policies. It is true that WMATA workplace rules prohibit an employee from intervening in a fight or dispute on their bus. When they become aware of an issue on their vehicle WMATA operators are instructed to stop the bus safely, secure the vehicle, and inform management of the incident. We strongly support this policy and policies like these because they are intended to keep our operators out of harm's way.
Our members have been on the front lines of this pandemic since day one. Our bus operators are often the first to deal with the full force of social problems that are not their fault or under their control. The negative impacts of poverty, mental illness, and drug addiction are often felt directly by our operators on a daily basis. The last few years have been some of the most challenging in decades. Our bus operators are not law enforcement officers and they shouldn’t have to act like them. Our members are not social workers. Our members aren’t trained to fight or break up fights. Our members aren’t trained to resolve the social issues that cause this violence. The problems our members face every day are far larger than something we can tackle on our own as transit workers.
A bus operator that intervenes in a fight, assault, or dispute has a target placed on their back. Most bus operators do the same routes day in and day out for months on end. They shouldn’t have to place themselves in danger just to move the riding public. We would never agree to or support a policy that would place our members directly in unsafe situations.
Our union has fought for years to help draw attention to attacks on transit workers and safety on public transportation. We strongly supported state and local efforts to protect our members and prevent these attacks in the first place.
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Amalgamated Transit Union Local 689 has more than 15,000 members and retirees performing occupations within the many skilled transportation crafts for the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA), MetroAccess, DASH, and the DC Circulator and Streetcar among others. A member of the Amalgamated Transit Union (AFL-CIO/CLC), the largest labor organization representing transit workers in the United States and Canada, Local 689 was established on January 19, 1916. For more information please visit our website at atulocal689.org.
