Miami Dade Transit — Miami-Dade Transit Cleaning Crew Member Sanitizes a Bus

COVID-19 meets its obstacles at BCT: PPEs.

The cries of Bus Operators have reached and entered the ears of their managers.

Managers who were, at first, caught flatfooted have sprung into action to protect their Bus Operators from the plague of the COVID-19 virus.

Broward County Transit is the 2nd largest transit agency in the state of Florida, and it is rapidly expanding due to the passing of a penny sales tax in November of 2018.

To help combat this menace to society, Broward County has delivered an array of PPEs to its most forward frontline employees — the Bus Operators. Operators now have face masks, face (plastic) shields, hand gloves, disinfectant wipes, disinfectant sprays, hand sanitizers, operator safety cages on some buses, as well as heavy-duty plastic partitions that separate the operators from their riders.

The agency that started behind the 8th ball has now jumped ahead of other local transit agencies in an attempt to protect its employees.

All legislative laws are guidelines, but not all guidelines/directions are statutory laws or ordinances.

It is a thin line between putting someone off public transportation for not wearing a mask and enforcing an unenforceable company guideline and violating that person’s civil rights.

Some riders get on the bus looking for a fight with the Bus Operator.

A Miami-Dade Transit Bus Promoting The Spread of COVID-19

In essence, some riders are looking for a lawsuit based on civil rights violations. Additionally, the American with Disabilities Act (ADA) does not leave any wiggle room for violations of the law.

Also, some riders are there to test the system to see what they can get away with or to see how hard the system will push back to suspend the civil rights of a customer.

The ADA Standards establish design requirements for the construction and alteration of facilities subject to the law. These enforceable standards apply to places of public accommodation, commercial facilities, and state and local government facilities.

There will always be testers of the system. For example, someone will board the bus with a Pitbull, (a lion or a cow), the County allows those safety issues to take place.

Either way, one party is painted in a corner, and the other has its back forced against the wall. When the dust is cleared, there will be a payor and a payee.

Slippery Slope Lawsuit.

Miami-Dade County Transit, the state’s largest transit agency, has taken another approach in dealing with the COVID-19 disease and transit managers. The Union has filed a frivolous lawsuit against the agency and its director of Transit Alice Bravo. The suit alleges that Miami-Dade puts the Operators’ life in jeopardy by calling on him or her to perform his/her duty.

**Broward County Transit encourages riders to practice social distancing.**

Dade Transit Union president Jeffery Mitchell in a statement said. “We had no choice but to sue – lives are at risk.” The County issues the drivers one Clorox wipe, one pair of gloves, and that is supposed to last all day long.”

Should this suit succeed, there could be a million and one lawsuits filed on behalf of the entire workforce of the United States.

Here is the Transit Workers Union contention: The lawsuit, filed Friday, April 19 by the transit workers union representing nearly 3,000 employees, asks for Transit Director Alice Bravo to make changes it says need to be in place to keep workers safe.

Workers claim, among several items, that officials have not provided them with sufficient masks, gloves and other protective gear. They say buses and rail cars are not properly sanitized and social distancing protocols are not being enforced.

Every employee has inadequate working conditions: Police officers, military personnel, store clerks, tractor-trailer drivers, nurses, doctors, prosecutors, etc., etc.

To help with the fight against the coronavirus, the federal government has doled out hundreds of million dollars) to aid transit agencies in providing services to the public and reward frontline workers for putting their lives on the line.

In response to the lawsuit filed against Miami-Dade County, Mayor Carlos Jimenez claims the County isn’t hoarding PPE supplies, BUT he says that the supplies must first go to frontline workers like doctors, nurses, and then others. Jimenez further stated that: We can only issue what we have. But we also have to prioritize it to people that are on the frontline.

What “Mayor” Jimenez failed to realize is that when a sick person enters a hospital or clinic, they announce to those frontline workers that they are ill or displaying symptoms of some kind. Healthcare workers are warned and take the necessary precautions. The Scarlet Letter?

Such an announcement is not made in advance to bus operators.

Staff Writer: Clinton Franklin