Workers demonstrated outside a courthouse where a hearing was held for a man suspected of assaulting a Metro station manager in Alexandria, Virginia. News4’s Juliana Valencia reports.
Transit workers demonstrated in Northern Virginia Thursday to call for more protection on the job after a Metro station manager was assaulted.
Amalgamated Transit Union Local 689 members chanted, "Not one more" outside the courthouse in Old Town Alexandria as the man suspected in the assault was arraigned.
"And we're going to walk in this courtroom and we're going to ask this judge to discipline this guy and give him what he deserves," ATU 689 President Raymond Jackson said.
Earlier in October, a station manager at the Braddock Road station was assaulted by a rider.
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Martinez Juan Roberston, 39, was charged in the Oct. 13 assault at the Braddock Road station, Metro Transit Police said.
"You can literally see him bending over to spit in her face, and she reacted. She reacted like any American would. Any, anybody on this planet would react. And then you see him grab her, throw her on the ground and knee her in her ribs," Jackson said.
The union said the assault isn't an isolated incident and many times workers don't report assaults for fear of retaliation.
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"You have a right to defend yourself. Not as transit workers, we don't. We don't have a right to fight back. We have a right to get beat up," Jackson said.
Transit workers said they want the people who assault them to be banned from riding or face stiffer penalties. They called on lawmakers to pass legislation that does more to address worker safety.
"And I'm telling everybody in this region if you assault one of our workers, we're going to show up [to] that court with you, and this union is going to ask them to give you the punishment you deserve," the union president said.
Jackson said he spoke to WMATA General Manager Randy Clarke Wednesday night and he told him he
supports more protections for transit workers.
Metro said the following in a statement to News4:
“The safety of our employees and customers is our highest priority. We have invested in more policing and extra security in recent years, which has led to a 30% drop in crime — the lowest in five years. When people do commit crimes, we want them to be held accountable to the fullest extent of the law.”
