The MBTA’s largest union is pushing for stronger protections for transit workers, 24 of whom were assaulted in December alone.
Twenty of these assaults were committed against bus operators, five of which were physical in nature. Two workers were struck and three were spat or coughed upon, said MBTA Chief Safety Officer Ronald Ester.
The Boston Carmen’s Union Local 589, which represents more than 6,000 MBTA employees, said that “as assaults against transit workers continue to rise,” the union “continues to advocate for increased measures to protect transit workers.”
This includes pushing the Legislature to codify tougher penalties for those who assault public transit workers, and asking the MBTA for better safeguards for frontline workers, said Christine Lamitina, a union spokeswoman.
“During the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond, our frontline workers risked their lives every day to ensure our community has access to safe, reliable transportation, and they deserve to be protected on the job,” Lamitina said.
In December, 14 bus drivers were also threatened, and a 15th was intimidated. Three rail operations employees were threatened and one was spat or coughed upon, Ester said.
The new data, presented at an MBTA safety subcommittee meeting Thursday, comes at a time when the agency is reporting shortages for both bus and subway operators, jobs that pay between $22.21 and $23.11 per hour.
The hourly pay is lower during training, at $16.66 per hour for bus, $16.82 for light rail and $17.33 for heavy rail operators.
Operator assaults have increased by 18% since 2010, according to the Federal Transit Administration, which described violence on transit as a “growing challenge” last March.
The federal Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, enacted in 2021, requires that public transit systems serving urbanized areas with a population of 200,000 or more develop a risk reduction plan for operations, to improve safety by reducing the number and rates of accidents, injuries and assaults on workers, the FTA said.
T spokesperson Joe Pesaturo said the MBTA has safety committees comprised of representatives of management and frontline employees in place, as required by this federal law.
“The MBTA Safety Department is tracking data and identifying trends to develop the most effective methods for mitigating assaults on employees,” Pesaturo said. “The information is gathered and tracked on a monthly basis.”
A public update was last provided to the T’s safety subcommittee in October, when six physical assaults — four by striking and two by spitting or coughing — and 11 verbal assaults were reported on bus operators for the month of August. One rail employee was threatened.
Pesaturo said partitions that separate operators from those boarding buses have been installed adjacent to the operator’s seat, to provide an extra layer of protection, and the MBTA is working to hire more Transit Police officers.
Eighteen new police officers joined the department this month, he said.
The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law also changed the definition of what constitutes a transit employee assault. Under past legislation, workers were only considered assaulted if they spent more than 48 hours in the hospital and had severe internal injuries.
Today, an assault is defined more broadly as an individual knowingly interfering with the health, safety or life of a transit worker.
In the U.S., at least one transit worker is assaulted during their shift every day, the Transport Workers Union of America AFL-CIO stated on its website.
In Massachusetts, state Rep. Joseph McGonagle filed legislation last month that would make assault and battery on a transit worker punishable by 90 days to two and a half years in state prison, or by fines of $500 to $5,000.
This would include flinging a bodily substance or any unspecified fluid at or onto a public transit worker, the legislation states.