Transport workers nervous after attacks from New York to Los Angeles

New York, NY (WorkersCompensation.com) – Transit Workers Union Local 100 workers are considering their options following a series of attacks on transit workers in New York City over the past week.

The attacks are similar to those across the country in which passengers attack drivers. Officials urged the public to stop the attacks, saying drivers and workers are not “punching bags.”

On June 7, a Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA) bus driver in East New York reported being punched in the face. This was one of three attacks on transit workers in the past week.

The driver, who did not want to give her name because her attacker is still at large, said she was riding the B6 bus when a passenger told her he had missed his stop.

“A guy stands up and says, ‘You passed my stop, can you let me off?'” she said during a press conference on June 11. “I said, ‘I can’t let you off.'”

According to the policy, drivers are not allowed to stop between bus stops. When the passenger asked again, the driver gave him the same answer.

“Before I finished, I got hit in the face while driving and I still had to be careful not to fall,” she said. “Then he said to me, ‘B—, open the door or I’ll kill you.’ So I stopped and opened the door because I was thinking about my beloved children that I wanted to go home to.”

According to an MTA accident report, the driver was hit in both eyes.

Another bus driver was attacked in East New York on Saturday, June 8, officials said.

Officials said 60-year-old MTA driver Isaac Egharevba was driving a shuttle bus around 11:45 a.m. that morning when an angry passenger attacked him. NY Transit police said the man, in his 20s, began arguing with the bus driver. As the argument escalated, he attacked the bus driver, stabbing him in the neck with a broken bottle.

Another subway conductor was beaten on the job on Monday, June 13, union officials said. They noted an increase in attacks on bus drivers and subway conductors. Union officials said they were glad the NYPD had increased its presence on the subways, but said the same was needed on buses.

“We have experienced a number of attacks on many of our employees,” said Richard Davis, president of TWU Local 100. He said there was another attack on a conductor on Tuesday morning before the press conference.

“We are not the public’s whipping boy. And at some point something is going to happen and transit workers are going to march with their feet, and I’m going to stand with them,” said John Paul Patafio, vice president of TWU Local 100.

Although walkouts and other actions by public sector workers are prohibited in New York State, MTA leadership has previously accused the TWU of violating the ban. In February, train crews slowed train service after a conductor was brutally stabbed in an attack.

When asked whether he was calling for a strike, Patafio did not answer.

“Let me put it this way,” he said. “If a house is burning, people will leave.”

Similar attacks occurred in other cities.

In Los Angeles, a bus driver was attacked by a homeless woman in late May, officials said.

According to the police report, the woman got on the bus and then got into an argument with the bus driver. The passenger then took the driver’s glasses and scratched his face. When the woman got off the bus, the driver chased the suspect and another physical altercation ensued. The driver was able to return her glasses, but they were broken.

Los Angeles Metro officials said the transit agency was “angry” that its “essential” bus drivers were being attacked.

“Our employees have a right to a safe workplace and our customers have a right to a safe ride. We are intensifying our efforts to prevent crime in our system,” said Jose Ubaldo of LA Metro.

And in Nashville, a bus driver was hospitalized at the end of May after a passenger attacked him with a kitchen knife.

Metro Nashville Police said 30-year-old Dericka Scivally boarded a WeGo bus. Witnesses said she was screaming and yelling as she boarded the bus.

The 54-year-old driver told Scivally to sit down and be quiet, but the woman became angry, officials said. The woman pulled out the kitchen knife and attacked the bus driver. The driver suffered defensive wounds to both hands, officials said. Scivally fled the bus on foot, but was later arrested by police and charged with attempted murder.

“We are deeply saddened by today’s incident,” WeGo said in a statement. “We want to ensure the safety of everyone on public transit and are assisting MNPD in their investigation. Members of the WeGo safety team are at the hospital with the driver, who is reported to be in stable condition but his injuries are not life-threatening.”