San Francisco Chronicle - (Sunday)
Public transit operators say virus putting them at risk
Transit operators are sounding the alarm about rising coronavirus infections among their ranks and asking for stricter safety measures, with some South Bay bus and train drivers threatening to stop work because of what they deem unsafe conditions if their demands are not met.
Infections among 2,100 employees at the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority had jumped to 149 since the beginning of the pandemic, rising at a rate of around 40 employees a month for the past three, spokesman Ken Blackstone said. Its largest union puts the count higher at 162 since March, said John Courtney, the president of ATU Local 265, which represents around 1,500 mechanics, drivers and other workers. Five people are recovering from hospitalization, he said. One bus driver died in October.
“Our members are genuinely scared,” Courtney said.
Recent spikes highlight the ongoing risks for frontline workers and challenges for transit agencies as the coronavirus surge continues and a limited vaccine supply has not yet reached operators, who are in the state’s next tier for eligibility. Bay Area agencies have taken similar approaches to worker safety — stepping up cleaning, providing protective gear and halting fare collection on buses to protect drivers at the start of the pandemic, then resuming it again with stricter measures.
Still, it’s unclear how many cases are from workplace exposure. At VTA, Blackstone said contact tracing has found few cases from workplace transmission, although he could not provide an exact number, and said those that did resulted from not following safety protocols, such as employees gathering in break rooms for extended periods of time.
The union disputes that claim, arguing tracing is brief and conducted by supervisors who are not medical professionals. Break rooms have now been shut for two weeks.
At the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency, more than 200 employees out of 6,000 have tested positive for COVID19. Contact tracing shows “almost, but not quite, zero” cases transmitted among workers, Director Jeffrey Tumlin said Tuesday.
At AC Transit, one employee has died from the virus, with contract tracing showing transmission was from outside of work, spokesman Robert Lyles said. Infections spiked from approximately 55 at Thanksgiving to 128 by Friday, said Board Director Jovanka Beckles.
“This is alarming and I’m really scared for my community and the workers involved,” Beckles said.
Blackstone said the increase in cases at VTA reflect the broader spike throughout the region. “While any infection is a serious concern, VTA did experience an uptick in the number of positive COVID19 cases in recent weeks, it is a small percentage of employees testing positive,” he said. “It is sadly consistent with the community trend associated with recent holiday gatherings.”
But some leaders are calling for agencies to do more during the worst wave of the pandemic. In the letter sent Monday to VTA management, Courtney said individual employees could halt work under a section of their contract that gives them the right to stop if they feel unsafe although the contract doesn’t allow a strike. The two parties met Tuesday and couldn’t agree on labor’s demands, which included stopping frontdoor fare collection, expanding COVID19 leave, paying for time spent traveling to and receiving vaccines from provider chosen by VTA, and offering postvaccine sick leave. “However, members have the right to individually claim that they feel that they are unsafe ... and with COVID19 killing almost half a million people in this country, their lives are at risk,” Courtney said.
The infection rate at VTA — roughly 7% — is double that of the SFMTA. The highest number of infected employees — 53 — was at the Chaboya Division Yard in San Jose, according to the union. The county and union organized onsite testing for workers in December, which could be why more positive tests arose.
One bus driver died from the virus in October. Courtney described Audrey Lopez as a cautious person who only entered a VTA building briefly to get her assignment, then stayed in her sanitized car or at home getting her groceries delivered. Courtney said VTA was “a responsible actor” at the start of the pandemic that worked closely with the union. The transit agency was the first in the Bay Area to stop frontdoor fare collection, provided personal protective equipment and installed thin plastic temporary barriers to protect drivers until more heavyduty permanent versions could be installed. The agency also put plexiglass inside work areas, outdoor seating for workers at facilities and increased contactless forms of payment for customers.
But the agency and its largest union have come to an impasse on how to respond to the recent surge. The agency did not agree to stop fare collection again, which resumed in August, similar to other agencies. With nosediving ridership and revenue, all agencies are hurting for the money, but have hope of soon receiving more federal relief funds.
“There’s no reason for them to continue to risk our lives for $2.25,” Courtney said. “If we save one life or two lives because we’ve gone to reardoor boarding, then we’ve won.”
Beckles of AC Transit will also push during the Jan. 27’s board meeting to halt frontdoor fare collection, which she said is unsafe.
“I don’t believe there’s any amount of money that anyone could tell me is worth people dying,” she said.
VTA’s union also wanted the agency to offer more COVID19 leave. Workers could use state and federal COVID19 leave last year, but those policies expired in 2021. Now, if employees are exposed in the course of duty, through no fault of their own, they would be paid through administrative leave, Blackstone said. However, if they get COVID19 through other ways, employees have to use sick or vacation time.