WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman Rob Menendez is leading a bipartisan coalition of 114 Members of Congress, urging the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) to immediately act on rulemaking required by the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act (FAST Act) to protect public transit operators from assault. The call to address America’s transit worker safety crisis is supported by the Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU), the Transportation Trades Department of the AFL-CIO (TTD), and the Transport Workers Union of America (TWU).
“Today we are addressing the unacceptable reality that public transit operators continue to face violence while in the course of their duties providing transportation in cities and towns across the United States,” said Congressman Menendez. “The FTA must act on rulemaking required by the FAST ACT – legislation passed eight years ago – to protect transit operators from violent assaults and prevent potential harm for passengers and pedestrians. I am proud to be joined by a large, bipartisan group of colleagues in calling for action to be taken and look forward to the FTA’s response to this urgent issue.”
“The epidemic of attacks on our members and riders and violence on public transit has reached new heights. We are sitting ducks behind the wheel, and it doesn’t have to be this way. Our Union won important safety protections for our members when Congress passed the Fixing America's Surface Transportation Act (FAST Act) directing the FTA to take action to address this growing crisis in our industry,” said ATU International President John Costa. “We urge the FTA to immediately issue rules to provide us with a safe place to work and ensure the safety of our riders too.”
“Workers need the Federal Transit Administration to do everything in its power to prevent workplace assaults and keep public transit systems safe for all,” said TTD President Greg Regan. “We applaud Rep. Menendez and the more than 100 Representatives who are urging the FTA to implement long overdue safety rules to better protect transit operators, passengers, and pedestrians.”
“Our members regularly face the very real threat of being strangled, stabbed, shot, and worse. Some have died. Many have scars that will never heal,” said TWU International President John Samuelsen. “Congress instructed the FTA to take immediate action to protect workers from assault in 2015. Every day the FTA fails to move forward is a day that could costs lives. The FTA must act to end this scourge of violence as quickly as possible.”
In recent years, assaults on public transit safety operators have continued to be an issue, creating dangerous working environments for transit workers who are essential to our communities, while also exacerbating worker shortages in transit agencies across the United States.
In 2015, Congress passed the FAST Act, in which Section 3022 required the FTA to issue a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) on protecting transit operators from assault, which to date has not been completed.
In 2019, the FTA under the Trump Administration issued a Federal Register notice that claimed rulemaking on operator assaults was “unnecessary.” This letter, led by Congressman Menendez and co-signed by 114 fellow members of Congress, calls on the FTA to reverse this position and immediately begin drafting rules that include strong minimum safety standards for public transit vehicles to protect transit workers from continuous attacks.
Earlier this year, Congressman Menendez introduced the Airline Employee Assault Prevention Act, which would protect passengers and certain airline employees such as ticket agents and airport workers by fixing a jurisdictional issue that prevents the FAA from implementing plans that would provide assault protections. The legislation has been referred to the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, which Congressman Menendez serves on.
A copy of the letter can be found here.
Co-signers include:
Rep. Colin Allred (TX-32)
Rep. Jake Auchincloss (MA-04)
Rep. Don Bacon (NE-03)
Rep. Nanette Barragán (CA-44)
Rep. Earl Blumenauer (OR-03)
Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester (DE-AL)
Rep. Jamaal Bowman (NY-16)
Rep. Brendan Boyle (PA-02)
Rep. Julia Brownley (CA-26)
Rep. Nikki Budzinski (IL-13)
Rep. André Carson (IN-07)
Rep. Matt Cartwright (PA-08)
Rep. Sean Casten (IL-06)
Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer (OR-05)
Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (FL-20)
Rep. Judy Chu (CA-28)
Rep. Yvette Clarke (NY-09)
Rep. Emanuel Cleaver (MO-05)
Rep. Steve Cohen (TN-09)
Rep. Angie Craig (MN-02)
Rep. Jasmine Crockett (TX-30)
Rep. Sharice Davids (KS-03)
Rep. Danny Davis (IL-07)
Rep. Suzan DelBene (WA-01)
Rep. Christopher Deluzio (PA-17)
Rep. Mark DeSaulnier (CA-10)
Rep. Anthony D'Esposito (NY-04)
Rep. Debbie Dingell (MI-6)
Rep. Anna Eshoo (CA-16)
Rep. Adriano Espaillat (NY-13)
Rep. Dwight Evans (PA-03)
Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (PA-01)
Rep. Bill Foster (IL-11)
Rep. Lois Frankel (FL-22)
Rep. Ruben Gallego (AZ-03)
Rep. John Garamendi (CA-08)
Rep. Andrew Garbarino (NY-02)
Rep. Jesús García (IL-04)
Rep. Robert Garcia (NY-14)
Rep. Daniel Goldman (NY-10)
Rep. Jimmy Gomez (CA-34)
Rep. Josh Gottheimer (NJ-05)
Rep. Raúl Grijalva (AZ-03)
Rep. Brian Higgins (NY-26)
Rep. Steven Horsford (NV-04)
Rep. Chrissy Houlahan (PA-06)
Rep. Val Hoyle (OR-04)
Rep. Jonathan Jackson (IL-01)
Rep. Sara Jacobs (CA-53)
Rep. Henry Johnson (GA-04)
Rep. Robin Kelly (IL-02)
Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (IL-08)
Rep. Ann Kuster (NH-02)
Rep. Nick LaLota (NY-01)
Rep. Greg Landsman (OH-01)
Rep. John Larson (CT-01)
Rep. Michael Lawler (NY-17)
Rep. Barbara Lee (CA-12)
Rep. Susie Lee (NV-03)
Rep. Ted Lieu (CA-36)
Rep. Stephen Lynch (MA-08)
Rep. Seth Magaziner (RI-02)
Rep. Doris Matsui (CA-06)
Rep. Morgan McGarvey (KY-03)
Rep. Kweisi Mfume (MD-07)
Rep. Marcus Molinaro (NY-19)
Rep. Gwen Moore (WI-04)
Rep. Joseph Morelle (NY-25)
Rep. Jared Moskowitz (FL-23)
Rep. Seth Moulton (MA-06)
Rep. Kevin Mullin (CA-15)
Rep. Jerrold Nadler (NY-12)
Rep. Grace Napolitano (CA-31)
Rep. Wiley Nickel (NC-13)
Rep. Donald Norcross (NJ-01)
Rep. Eleanor Norton (DC-AL)
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (NY-14)
Rep. Frank Pallone (NJ-06)
Rep. Bill Pascrell (NJ-09)
Rep. Donald Payne (NJ-10)
Rep. Brittany Pettersen (CO-07)
Rep. Mark Pocan (WI-02)
Rep. Katie Porter (CA-47)
Rep. Mike Quigley (IL-05)
Rep. Delia Ramirez (IL-03)
Rep. Jamie Raskin (MD-08)
Rep. Patrick Ryan (NY-18)
Rep. John Sarbanes (MD-03)
Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon (PA-05)
Rep. Janice Schakowsky (IL-09)
Rep. Adam Schiff (CA-30)
Rep. Bradley Schneider (IL-10)
Rep. Hillary Scholten (MI-03)
Rep. Brad Sherman (CA-32)
Rep. Mikie Sherrill (NJ-11)
Rep. Elissa Slotkin (MI-08)
Rep. Eric Sorensen (IL-17)
Rep. Darren Soto (FL-09)
Rep. Pete Stauber (MN-08)
Rep. Eric Swalwell (CA-14)
Rep. Emilia Sykes (OH-13)
Rep. Dina Titus (NV-01)
Rep. Jill Tokuda (HI-02)
Rep. Norma Torres (CA-35)
Rep. Ritchie Torres (NY-15)
Rep. Lori Trahan (MA-03)
Rep. Juan Vargas (CA-52)
Rep. Nydia Velázquez (NY-07)
Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (FL-25)
Rep. Jennifer Wexton (VA-10)
Rep. Susan Wild (PA-07)
Rep. Nikema Williams (GA-05)
Rep. Frederica Wilson (FL-24)
