While Attacking Muni Drivers SF MTA Pushes PR Scam With TWU 250A Leaders

While Attacking Muni Drivers SF MTA Pushes PR Scam With TWU 250A Leaders
New ad campaign to promote safety of SF Muni operators with TWU Pres Williams in collusion with SFMTA While Operators Are Witch Hunted
http://www.sfexaminer.com/new-ad-campaign-promote-safety-muni-operators/

The ads use quotes not just from Muni operators but also from their apparent family members, urging criminals to avoid targeting bus operators. (Courtesy photo)
By Joe Fitzgerald Rodriguez on August 16, 2016 1:00 am

A new ad campaign that’s set to roll out from the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency targets the safety of an increasingly common victim: Muni operators.

The campaign, which will be launched in conjunction with the Transport Workers Union Local 250-A that represents operators, was revealed to the San Francisco Examiner by the Muni operators’ union in light of the weekend assault of bus driver Carla Romero, 32, of San Francisco.

The ads — 11 drafts of which were shared with the Examiner from the union — use quotes not just from Muni operators but also from their apparent family members, urging criminals to avoid targeting bus operators.

“I get you across town safely, I want to get home safely too,” one ad reads. “Our son gets you to work safely, I want him to get home safely too,” reads another.

The effort to tamp down on assaults traces back to before Romero’s assault, said Eric Williams, head of TWU Local 250-A,Williams, to recent incidents of operators being punched and spat on.

As for Romero, a video showing a physical altercation between Romero and a citizen may exonerate the operator, Williams said Monday.

“She was definitely defending herself,” said Williams of Romero.

Romero told the Examiner she was assaulted by an angry motorist outside the 30-Stockton bus she was driving at Third and Mission streets Saturday morning.

The driver pushed her, she said, then she returned with a punch and he threw her to the ground, beating her. She said he only stopped once she landed a punch on his nose.

Williams said a union shop steward and others reviewed video footage from the operator’s Muni bus. Williams said the video showed it was “very clear” Romero was attacked.

The San Francisco Police Department confirmed both she and the motorist filed a citizen’s arrest against each other, and both were cited for battery.

“Muni operators have a very difficult job and the vast majority do it extremely well,” SFMTA spokesperson Paul Rose said. “While we fully investigate this matter with SFPD to find out exactly what happened, physical violence should never be an option against these dedicated transit employees.”