TWU Local 100 calls for Gov. Hochul to sign bill mandating 2 MTA staffers per train
A recent bill that now sits unsigned on Gov. Kathy Hochul's desk would make that a choice New Yorkers would never have to make - mandating one train conductor and one operator per train.
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Would you get on a train if you knew it only had one conductor who was responsible for hundreds of passengers and tasked with evacuating or stopping the train in the case of an emergency.
A recent bill that now sits unsigned on Gov. Kathy Hochul's desk would make that a choice New Yorkers would never have to make - mandating one train conductor and one operator per train.
Currently most trains run with two MTA workers, with the exception of certain odd-hour G and M trains, according to TWU Local 100 RTO VP Tramell Thompson, who says the bill would end the decades-long push-and-pull between the MTA and TWU on expanding so-called one-person-train-service (OPTO).
"You have derailments, you have crime, you take that one person away, then more people are in danger. It's as simple as that, we don't see one person police patrol, but they want one person trains when ridership is all time high," he said adding "every contract MTA tries to add this in, and we push back."
He says the recent rise in subway surfing also poses a risk to one-operator service, as surfers could go undetected by workers until tragedy strikes or open the trains up to risk.
"If you have just the one person, and even now not all the incidents are reported, they are pulling the cords, and if you do not see it, you cannot know unless there is a body falling off and onto the platform or they sneak in front and have keys," he said. "You always need one person to handle the incident, and one person to handle the passengers, you don't want to sit in a tunnel in the dark for 20 minutes with no information."
Thompson tells News 12 he hopes the governor signs the bill, which had stalled in the Legislature since the 1990s, until it cleared both chambers this summer.
"I think the governor cares about safety, it would send a message us as workers and riders the governor has our back," he said.
News 12 reached out to Gov. Hochul's office and was told she was "considering the bill."
