PITTSBURGH – Though the Port Authority of Allegheny County has appealed
an injunction granted in January to enjoin a ban on its employees wearing face masks emblazoned with “Black Lives Matter” at work to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, the trial judge ruled the injunction must stay in place for now.
In a Feb. 24
opinion, U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania Judge J. Nicholas Ranjan ordered the preliminary injunction to prevent enforcement of the “Black Lives Matter” mask policy would remain active, finding to do otherwise would violate the First Amendment rights of the defendant’s employees.
Regina's executive committee is set to debate a $2.5-million program to install shields for bus drivers and spots on buses where people with mobility issues could secure themselves without driver assistance.
Winnipeg Free Press By: Joyanne Pursaga | Posted: 7:00 PM CST Monday, Mar. 1, 2021
As the City of Winnipeg prepares a week-long effort to combat racism, one of its unions is demanding a tougher response to racist comments allegedly hurled at bus drivers.
As the City of Winnipeg prepares a week-long effort to combat racism, one of its unions is demanding a tougher response to racist comments allegedly hurled at bus drivers.
The city must act to deter riders from uttering racist slurs at drivers, something that is far too common, said James Van Gerwen, executive vice-president of the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1505. Van Gerwen said about two-thirds of Winnipeg Transit drivers are immigrants to Canada with diverse ethnic backgrounds, some of whom have reported repeated incidents of racism.
One driver tested positive for COVID-19 in the past week.
However. Amalgamated Transit Union Local 966 President Fred Caputo is not aware if a contact source has been identified.
Transit manager Brad Loroff said the department has not been contacted about the case by the Thunder Bay District Health Unit.
On instructions from the TBDHU, since July 2020 riders have been requested to wear a mask even when physical distancing can be maintained on a bus.
Exemptions are permitted for those with medical conditions including breathing difficulties, cognitive difficulties, and hearing or communication difficulties. Right now the health unit is just doing it as a recommendation, and we are getting passengers using that as a means to get on without wearing a mask.They say they have asthma. They get on and they re coughing. Other passengers feel uneasy, and a lot of them have been are getting off, Caputo said.
Transit union says excessive overtime, overloaded buses signal need for change
The union boss representing Calgary transit workers says too much overtime, too many overloaded buses and no shows are all signs that more drivers need to return to work after getting laid off last spring due to the pandemic.
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