PRESS RELEASE: SMART-TD Helps Secure Crucial Win For Worker Safety

For more information, please contact:
SMART-TD Communications Team
Phone: (330) 322-5949
Email: dbanks@smart-union.org

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

UPPER DARBY, PA – January 13, 2025 — The first glare-resistant and bulletproof driver barriers are set to be installed on the first of eight Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) buses tomorrow.

This achievement is the result of a pilot program that was part of the tentative agreement (TA) reached between SMART Local 1594 and SEPTA in November.

SMART-TD’s Bus and Transit Assault Prevention and Safety (BTAPS) Committee was a key partner in developing the program.

“I want to thank our BTAPS committee for their help in making this happen and advocating for Operator’s enclosures to be bulletproof,” said Anthony Petty, SMART-TD alternate vice president bus-east & GC Local 1594. “With the support of this team at SMART, we’re setting the tone for every bus company in SMART-TD and across the United States.”

“That’s the importance of having a union,” Petty continued. “Without one, the company can tell you what to do and say whatever they want. I look forward to working with them [SEPTA] in the future and hope that they’re going to always be on the same page and that they realize that we’re their frontline employees.”

Classified as the “alpha prototype,” the barrier will be test-fitted to ensure that no additional design modifications are needed before the “beta prototypes” are installed on the remaining seven buses.

The eventual goal is to outfit the entire SEPTA bus fleet with these new barriers.

Petty emphasized the importance of this moment for the SEPTA drivers who are members of the SMART-TD family.

“It feels great,” Petty reflected. “It feels like we’re finally on the same page as the company. I can report back to the operators that something is being done about our safety, and it’s just not being looked over.”

With violent attacks against bus drivers increasing nationwide, this is an important step forward in ensuring that the safety of these essential workers is top-of-mind.

Tony Ricci with Custom Glass Solutions has been involved in the design process since October 2023 when a SEPTA driver was shot and killed.

“Everybody was sick about this,” Ricci reflected. “That’s [violence against drivers] been a problem for a long time, and SEPTA and the union were dedicated to coming up with a solution.”

During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, many of the barriers were designed to focus on virus prevention rather than physical protection for drivers. Often flimsy and able to be easily pulled apart, these were not a long-term safety solution.

In fact, some of these barriers negatively impacted drivers’ safety by creating a major glare issue when trying to see their curbside mirror, increasing the potential of accidentally hitting pedestrians, vehicles, or crashing the bus due to an impacted sight line.

“I’ve traveled around the country and met with multiple transit authorities, and I’ve seen the barriers that have been put on these buses,” Ricci said. “They’re extremely inadequate for assault. It’s really bad to give a driver a false sense of security. The idea here was to create a barrier that would solve all of the different problems.”

These new barriers are designed to protect drivers from both physical assaults and assaults committed with various types of weapons. From start to finish, the priority has remained the same: ensuring that SMART-TD members are safe at work.

“I want to thank President Jeremy Ferguson and VP James Sandoval for thinking outside of the box with how they let me address this issue in our contract dispute with SEPTA, “Petty noted. “They gave me the ability to protect our members and made their safety this union’s number one objective.”

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About SMART-TD

The Sheet Metal, Air, Rail, and Transportation Workers—Transportation Division (SMART-TD), also known as the SMART-TD Railroad Union, is the largest rail union in North America, representing more than 100,000 workers. We fight for the rights of our members, ensuring that they receive fair wages, safe working conditions, and the benefits they deserve. Our union is committed to standing up for all railroad workers and ensuring that their voices are heard in Washington, D.C.