Commuter-rail operators, unions urge Judiciary Committee to expand assault protections for transit workers

The Joint Committee on the Judiciary heard multiple hours of testimony urging lawmakers to expand criminal protections for transit workers, saying assaults on commuter‑rail and contractor staff are rising and current law leaves gaps for workers employed by private contractors.

Adela Shazray, CEO of Keolis Commuter Services, told the committee the commuter‑rail workforce “does not have the same protections against assault and battery as other public transit workers,” and described a pattern of underreporting and insufficient enforcement. Bill Baradino, vice president and assistant business agent for Amalgamated Transit Union Local 589, said the union tracked 629 assaults on MBTA workers in 2024 — including 486 verbal assaults, 72 physical assaults, 33 weapon incidents and 38 assaults involving bodily fluids — and said many incidents go unreported because current statutes lead to weak penalties.

Frontline workers also testified about on‑the‑job attacks. A Keolis conductor described being spat on and threatened with a knife; another said a passenger threatened to shoot him. Conductor Cole Zub said conductors and assistant conductors perform safety and medical tasks while “maintaining professionalism under increased pressures and hostility,” and that because many commuter rail workers are employed by private contractors, they lack the same statutory protections afforded to MBTA employees.

Supporters asked the committee to report House Bill 18‑77, sponsored by Rep. Joseph McGonagle, and companion Senate language, favorably. The bill would make it a specific offense to assault or batter a transit worker, regardless of whether the worker is employed directly by the MBTA or by a contracted operator. Testifiers said the change would close a gap they said has left some assaults treated as only simple assault, producing low sentences and little deterrence.

Keolis and union representatives described operational responses the employer and MBTA have taken — de‑escalation training, an employee assault task force, updated incident coding for dispatch and PSAs — but said those steps have not stemmed the rise in incidents. Several workers described anxiety, sleeplessness and fear of returning to work after assaults; some said they were required to sit near individuals who had assaulted them when they later attended court hearings.

No formal vote was taken during the hearing. Committee chairs invited written testimony and said staff would continue to work with sponsors and stakeholders on statutory language and implementation details.

Supporters asked lawmakers to account for the contractors‑versus‑public‑employee distinction in drafting legislation so that protections apply to all transit workers who provide front‑line passenger service.