Latest news with #workerprotection
CBS News
14 hours ago
- Business
- CBS News
New Colorado law increases penalties for violence toward bus, train operators
A new state law is cracking down on violence against Colorado transit workers. It makes assaulting a bus or train operator a crime, along with serious consequences. Ronald Short, acting recording secretary for transit union ATU Local 1001. CBS Nationwide between 2008 and 2022, major assaults on transit workers near tripled. These are defined by the Federal Transit Administration as incidents resulting in fatalities or injuries requiring medical transport. In 2024, the FTA issued a general directive mandating transit agencies nationwide to assess and mitigate risks associated with assaults on transit workers. Agencies are now required to conduct safety assessments and implement strategies to enhance worker safety. Ronald Short was a longtime bus driver. He is now the acting recording secretary for transit union ATU Local 1001. For Short, transit workers are essential. "If we don't come to work, the city doesn't move," Short told CBS Colorado. For 26 years, Short has served the public driving buses in the Denver metro area -- a career he says is something of a family business. "I was blessed to follow in my dad's footsteps and have a career. Not everybody can drive a bus," Short said. Short has made it through snowstorms and traffic jams, but he admits things were different then. He says operators today are faced with a lot of issues. "Twenty-six years ago, I wasn't dealing with rapid homelessness," Short said. "You never know who is getting on your bus." Behind the wheel, Short says operators see it all -- from homelessness and drug use to the occasional fight. He's hopeful this new law will mean fewer close calls and more peace of mind. "This is teaching the public what line not to cross," Short said. Assaults against transit workers are classified as a Class 1 misdemeanor, punishable by up to one year in jail and/or a $1,000 fine. It also includes provisions to enhance training and resources for transit law enforcement to improve public safety. In a statement to CBS Colorado, a spokesperson for the Regional Transportation District said they hope the bill will help recruit and retain more operators, adding, "RTD supported HB25-1290 and appreciates the hard work of the bill sponsors to champion this tough issue. Additionally, RTD appreciates the support of Gov. Polis for signing the bill into law. Pursuing legislation to help address issues related to assaults and harassment of RTD employees while performing their public service duties has been a priority for the agency. When assaults and unwelcomed behavior are experienced by RTD's transit workers, it can have a negative impact on the agency's ability to recruit, and importantly, retain a skilled workforce necessary for delivering critical services to the public. HB25-1290 strengthened penalties associated with existing state harassment statutes and RTD hopes this bill will provide a stronger criminal justice tool that can be used to deter violence and harassment toward RTD's employees. Additionally, the agency is optimistic that this legislation sends a message to municipalities and the public that the State of Colorado is serious about preventing attacks against transit workers." For Short, seeing this become law gives him hope for the future. "I feel better that the law is there. That protection is a voice for us to be heard," Short said.
Khaleej Times
3 days ago
- Business
- Khaleej Times
Midday break: UAE announces outdoor work ban starting June 15
The UAE will enforce a ban on outdoor work under direct sunlight from 12.30pm to 3pm daily for three months, starting June 15. This midday break initiative, introduced to protect workers during the country's peak summer heat, is now in its 21st year. Under the scheme, workers will be given a break from outdoor work during the hottest part of the day until September 15. The Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation will monitor compliance through its inspection systems to ensure that no workers are made to work during the prohibited hours. Companies found violating the rule face a fine of Dh5,000 per worker, up to a maximum of Dh50,000 if multiple workers are involved.
National Post
27-05-2025
- Health
- National Post
Safe Workers = Safe Patrons: Library Workers in Thunder Bay Call for Immediate Action After Another Violent Incident
Article content THUNDER BAY, Ontario — Following another violent incident at a Thunder Bay Public Library branch, library workers are calling on their employer to take immediate action for worker and patron safety. Article content Article content 'One of our members was hospitalized after an assault last week, and in the library nothing has changed to protect workers or the public. There was another violent incident at the same branch yesterday. Library management has been incredibly negligent when it comes to health and safety and we can't wait another day,' said Margaret Demillo, president of CUPE 3120, which represents almost 60 workers at the city's four library branches. Article content Between January and March, there were more than 200 incidents at the city's libraries – a 73 percent increase over the previous quarter. The Brodie branch, which saw the violent assault of a library worker last week, saw a whopping 183 percent increase. Article content 'Management knows there is a problem. The city knows there is a problem. Council saw fit to have security at City Hall to protect themselves, but the people working across the street at the library? They're left on their own,' Demillo said. Article content Following the May 26 assault, and months of requests from staff, library management publicly stated they were finally considering security for the Brodie branch. But to date there have been no additional security measures put in place, and no details about how security would work to effectively protect staff and patrons or what is being done at other branches, which are also experiencing higher numbers of incidents of abuse. Article content Article content Article content Article content Article content
Yahoo
18-05-2025
- Yahoo
Berated, spat on, and even stabbed: Can a new bill stop assaults on bus and train drivers?
MBTA bus driver Patty Hardy wasn't sure why the passenger was threatening to kill her. Sitting in the driver's seat as she steered a bus up the 22 route, through Boston's Dorchester and Roxbury neighborhoods, Hardy was doing her job. Yet here was an unruly passenger who told her she was in the wrong area and pledged to shoot her. It wasn't the first time. Increasingly, bus and train operators, customer service agents and other transit staff are being verbally abused, doused with coffee or other fluids, and threatened with more serious violence, most often because passengers are frustrated over fare collection, said Bill Berardino, vice president of the Boston Carmen's Union, a labor group representing MBTA workers. Hardy said she has seen the full range, from a passenger who spat in her face to another who pulled a knife and threatened to stab her. That day, she asked herself, ''Is this how I'm going to die?'' the widowed mother of two testified to a state Legislature committee last week. 'What's going to happen to my children?' The Legislature is weighing a proposed bill to crack down on verbal and physical assaults of public transportation workers and expand the definition of assault to include the discharge of fluids or bodily substances, covering saliva, urine and more. It would also extend protections to employees of private transit companies such as Peter Pan and Keolis, which operates MBTA Commuter Rail services. A similar bill failed last year, passing the state House of Representatives before running out of steam and time in the Senate, Berardino said. He hopes it will have a better shot in this legislative session. Assaults and batteries on MBTA staff numbered more than 600 last year. Roughly three-quarters were verbal assaults. Another 72 were physical attacks, 33 were assaults with weapons and 38 were assaults with bodily fluid or beverage, Berardino said. 'These incidents happen every single day,' Hardy told legislators. 'That's not a way to live.' The figures are likely a severe undercount, Berardino said, since more minor incidents of verbal abuse or spitting often go unreported. He was driven to pass the bill after the stabbing of another union member, York Makonnen, while she drove an MBTA bus in Lynn. Testifying alongside Hardy on May 6, Makonnen described to state lawmakers how she heard a commotion from the back of her bus late one night. As Makonnen pulled the bus to the side of the road and opened the doors, fearing for her passengers' safety, a man rushed to the front and thrust his knife into Makonnen's neck and back. A fellow passenger stepped between them, threw the assailant to the floor and wrestled the knife away before other passengers subdued the man. The bill has the backing of the MBTA and Keolis. Abdellah Chajai, Keolis's CEO and general manager, told state lawmakers that his employees should enjoy the same protections as standard public transit workers, since the private company is operating a public service. The T has responded to the rise in assaults by instituting de-escalation training, forming an employee assault task force and making it easier for drivers to log every assault with dispatchers to generate a prompt response from Transit Police, Berardino said. His union also wants lawmakers to make it easier for police who don't witness an assault to arrest suspected assailants on the word of transit workers, rather than taking the suspects' names and issuing a summons to appear in court. They see current practice as ineffective, relying on suspects to show up in court. 'We want an automatic arrest,' Berardino said. 'You throw something or verbally or physically assault someone, you're getting arrested.' Rep. Joseph W. McGonagle Jr., D-28th Middlesex, who filed the bill, said nearly half of all injuries to transit employees occur because of assaults. For many public transit staff, 'this is a reality,' he said in 2023, when the legislation was last raised, according to the Boston Herald. 'Riders who are agitated, under the influence or unwell can become physically aggressive with the operator, which not only leaves the operator at risk of being injured, but everyone else who is riding as well.' Hardy and Makonnen's testimony echoed the horror stories their colleagues told lawmakers two years ago, according to the Herald. Cheryle Bradley, an MBTA bus driver, recalled one episode that began with an innocuous request that a boy stop vaping on the bus. He complied. But when he later exited the bus, the boy blew a cloud of smoke in Bradley's face and called her an obscenity. His companion punched the window of the bus as she closed the door. 'And then he brandished a gun,' Bradley said. 'Looked right at my face, smiled and he pulled the gun out of his jacket.' She said she had never been so terrified. Your MBTA Commuter Rail train may now run on vegetable oil Ethics Commission accuses retired MBTA manager of violating conflict of interest law 'Mission for Mass.': Ex-MBTA boss Brian Shortsleeve launches GOP guv bid 6 MBTA Commuter Rail vs. motor vehicle crashes this year: What's to blame? 'Intense congestion' expected on the Mass. Pike for 2 upcoming weekends Read the original article on MassLive.
