Reported by Kim Bellware for the Washington Post.
The labor coalition representing dozens of transportation-sector unions has renewed its call for greater safety measures and cited Tuesday’s subway shooting in Brooklyn as the latest example of a public transit and workplace safety crisis.
“It is unacceptable for commuters to fear for their safety when using public transit and for transit workers to fear for their safety while on the job,” Greg Regan, president of the Transportation Trades Department, AFL-CIO, said in a statement Tuesday.
Regan praised the swift action by first responders and transit crew and personnel in the subway shooting but said TTD and affiliated unions have called for local-, state- and federal-level safety reforms well before Tuesday.
Regan has pushed to continue the practice of staffing trains with both an operator and a conductor. He also called for increasing the presence of station agents and putting transit safety provisions — outlined last month in a letter to the Biden administration — into a federal bipartisan infrastructure bill.
“We are in a race against the clock and this morning’s attack demonstrates the devastating consequences of continuing to act without urgency,” Regan said. “It is imperative that we improve public confidence in the safety of our nation’s transit systems and workplace safety for the frontline transportation workers who are tasked with the immense responsibility of safely moving millions of passengers every single day.”
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