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Brother Aaron Hatter of SMART-TD Local 1594 (Upper Darby, Pa.) has only been a member of SMART-TD since June.

Aaron was operating his bus on the South East Pennsylvania Transit Authority (SEPTA) 108 Route from Upper Darby to the airport in southwest Philadelphia when a passenger got on the bus and informed him that he didn’t have enough money to cover his fare.

Hatter, who had received new-hire training from SMART-TD General Chairperson Anthony Petty knew he wasn’t supposed to put himself in harm’s way by arguing a fare with a passenger.

He took the correct course of action by not engaging and allowing the passenger to ride. As he was getting close to completing his run, he stopped to let this passenger off the bus at the corner of Church Lane and Connell Road in Yeadon about 1 p.m.

Member hurt in unprovoked confrontation

As the man exited the bus, he stopped and, without being provoked, stabbed Aaron twice, first in his face and then in his stomach.

Brother Hatter had to be rushed into surgery because doctors believed the knife had damaged his intestine. Fortunately, they were incorrect, and our brother is expected to recover fully.

“Aaron is a good new operator who does his job well,” GC Petty said of Hatter. “You hate to see any of our operators put in this situation, but in this case in particular, Brother Hatter did everything right and still ended up being violently assaulted.”

Recovery progressing, but frustration mounts for SMART bus union leader

Petty’s frustration was evident. He said when he went to talk to Hatter following the surgery, he was encouraged to hear that he is recovering well.

“I was glad to see Aaron is going to be all right, but this never should have happened.” Petty said. “Our operators know to file reports of physical assaults and altercations, but there is no mechanism to report verbal assault. A handful of our operators have had negative experiences with this particular passenger. Up to now, he has never become violent. He would make insulting comments and walk away, but it never escalated. We need to start documenting these verbal assaults and have a way to address these problems before they grow into situations like this with our member fighting for his life.”

SMART bus union taking action, to roll out reporting tool

SMART-TD agrees with Brother Petty 100%. An assault report designed by SMART-TD’s internal Bus/Transit Assault Prevention and Safety (BTAPS) committee will soon be made available on the SMART app and our website. This form will get this information into the hands of our local officers and BTAPS members.

With actionable information, these local officers will be better-equipped to ensure our brothers and sisters like Aaron are not caught off guard and unnecessarily put in harm’s way.

In this country, Memorial Day is a time when we remember service members who have passed on before us, then gather with friends and family around a barbecue grill and focus on what is important in our lives.

Brother Devan Harris of SMART-TD Local 1594 was killed on Memorial Day, May 27, 2024, in a drive-by shooting in Philadelphia.

SMART-TD Local 1594 member and SEPTA bus operator Devan Harris and his family were doing just that when their world was forever shattered last week.

At a cookout in Philadelphia, Brother Harris and his girlfriend were enjoying their day with their daughter, Luna, when Devan killed in the senseless violence of a drive-by shooting.

Devan and his girlfriend, Constance Johnson-Walker, both are members of Local 1594. Together they were building a life for their 2-year-old daughter, Luna. As their SEPTA coworkers know, Devan was a dedicated father and the kind of union brother we grew to count on.

Brother Harris’s young family is counting on us. If you are able, please donate to the GoFundMe account SMART-TD established for Constance and Luna.

Our union sister needs the support of the SMART-TD family in her time of need.

Local 1594: Our brothers and sisters working on the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transit Authority (SEPTA) recently won a new level of job security.

SEPTA is the only property where SMART-TD members operate commuter rail, bus, and trollies. These three classifications have different job duties, each with unique challenges. Unfortunately, our men and women working for SEPTA could be reassigned to any of the three crafts without a say in the matter.

If they didn’t pass the tests after being trained for a new job, the employee got fired. Even if you were a great employee for two years in the bus department, if you didn’t pass the exam after training to operate rail or a trolley, you got let go.  

There is no justice in this practice. Until now, General Chairperson Anthony Petty of Local 1594, which represents our SEPTA members, set out to change this.

GC Petty and Bus Department Vice President James Sandoval were aware that the contract was not under negotiation, but they were determined to change the policy. They refused to let this problem fester until the following contract was hashed out, and neither wanted to tie the outcome of this request to the conditions of a larger negotiation.

They took the fight directly to SEPTA as a stand-alone issue and got the win they were after! SEPTA sent GC Petty a formal side letter on March 18 informing him that language had been added to Local 1594’s contract stating that any employee outside of their initial training who “fails the rail portion of training will be permitted to transfer to bus operations.”

This might sound minor, but this is a victory for our Bus Department that will directly preserve our men and women’s careers. Our SEPTA bus operators now have a safety net ready to catch them when their boss orders them to learn how to be railroaders in the middle of their careers as bus operators. Now there’s a safety net courtesy of Brothers Sandoval, Petty and the amazing team at Local 1594.

SMART-TD honors the work, creativity, and persistence demonstrated by our officers in solving this problem for their fellow members. If your manager introduces a policy that seems unjust or threatens the security of your livelihood contact your local union officers. Together we can reverse unfair decisions and defend your right to a just and secure workplace.

By Calvin Studivant,

Alternate vice president, Bus Department

December marked 55 years since Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on a Montgomery, Ala., bus — “an act that challenged the moral conscience of an entire nation,” said President Obama in honoring her legacy.

Most historians date the beginning of the modern civil rights movement in the United States to Rosa Parks’ act of courage on Dec. 1, 1955.

The Montgomery bus boycott lasted 382 days and brought Parks to the attention of the world. The Supreme Court subsequently struck down the Montgomery ordinance under which Parks had been fined, and outlawed racial segregation on public transportation.

President Obama said the Montgomery bus boycott “marked a turning point in American history…and the eventual outlawing of racial segregation and discrimination.”

Continued President Obama, “Rosa Parks and the many other leaders and foot soldiers in that struggle for justice championed our founding principles of freedom and equality for all. As we commemorate the anniversary of the Montgomery bus boycott, I encourage all Americans to honor their legacy — the legacy of Americans who marched bravely, worked tirelessly, and devoted their lives to the never-ending task of making our country a more perfect union.”

In 1996, President Clinton presented Parks with the Presidential Medal of Freedom. She received a Congressional Gold Medal in 1999.

After her death in 2005, at age 92, Parks’ casket was placed in the rotunda of the United States Capitol for two days — making her the only woman and second African-American in American history to lie in state at the Capitol.

And congratulations to the brothers and sisters of Local 23 in Santa Cruz, Calif., who, under the leadership of Sister Sharon Hightower Toline, helped to organize a historical presentation of Rosa Parks and her legacy. On Dec. 1, the transit district reserved the front seat on buses as a dedication.

On another note, I am happy to report that Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority employee Rhonda Taylor (Local 1594, Upper Darby, Pa.) had her termination case overturned in arbitration. Sister Taylor, out of work since February 2010, was reinstated with full back pay, minus 30 days for suspension, and the discipline will be expunged from her record. General Chairperson Waverly Harris, Vice General Chairperson Brian Caldwell, and members Curtis Fulmore and David Stinsman presented the case. I was honored to have provided assistance.