1 min read

Season 5, Episode 17

SMART Union working to improve safety for transit workers in America

SMART-1

 

Guest Name:


Alvy Hughes

Guest Website:


smart-union.org 

Guest Social Media:


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Vice President of the Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Union, Alvy Hughes, joined the America’s Work Force Union Podcast to discuss the rising number of assaults on transit workers. Hughes discussed the importance of transit workers to everyday life and some of the safety improvements provided for bus drivers.

The transit industry faced several challenges during the pandemic, including an increase in physical assaults from riders. Hughes discussed the steps SMART took to ensure workers were provided a safe workplace. With the union’s improvements and commitment to safety, SMART took another step to create a committee to discuss options and propose solutions to prevent future assaults on transit workers, he said.

Hughes said that ensuring transit workers are protected is not just a union problem but a national issue. As more data is unveiled, SMART is using it to further the case for providing more workplace protections. Hughes discussed the union's work with legislators to educate and develop improved laws and harsher penalties for assaults on transit workers.                                                                                                                                        

Among the safety improvements for drivers already inacted are safety barriers that prevent many physical attacks. Hughes said that the barriers are helpful, but they’re not ideal and discussed potential improvements that will be made to provide even more protection. Hughes also talked about how these assaults have impacted hiring and created a further issue with understaffing for transit operators.

Listen to the show above to hear more from Hughes on the safety of transit operators.


America’s Work Force is the only daily labor podcast in the US and has been on the air since 1993, supplying listeners with useful, relevant input into their daily lives through fact-finding features, in-depth interviews, informative news segments and practical consumer reports. America’s Work Force is committed to providing an accessible venue in which America's workers and their families can hear discussion on important, relevant topics such as employment, healthcare, legislative action, labor-management relations, corporate practices, finances, local and national politics, consumer reports and labor issues.

America’s Work Force Union Podcast is brought to you in part by our sponsors: AFL-CIO, American Federation of Government Employees, American Federation of Musicians Local 4, American Alliance for Manufacturing, Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield, Columbus/Central Ohio Building and Construction Trades Council, Communication Workers of America, International Association of Heat and Frost Insulators and Allied Workers, International Association of Heat and Frost Insulators and Allied Workers Local 50, International Brotherhood of Teamsters, International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers, International Union of Bricklayers and Allied Crafts, International Union of Painters and Allied Trades District Council 6, Ironworkers Great Lakes District Council, The Labor Citizen newspaper, Laborers International Union of The National Labor Office of Blue Cross and Blue Shield, North America, North Coast Area Labor Federation, Ohio Federation of Teachers, Survey and Ballot Systems, United Labor Agency, United Steelworkers.

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