Metro-North Railroad union: Drop the mask mandate now so we don't get attacked

Metro-North’s biggest union wants the state to ease mask mandates on the commuter rail amid a series of angry confrontations between conductors and passengers upset about having to wear a mask.

In recent weeks, passengers have spit on and assaulted conductors after being told they would need to put on a mask, Edward Valente, the general chairman of the Association of Commuter Rail Employees, said.

The incidents have surged as local governments and other transportation agencies make mask-wearing optional, giving passengers the message that they don’t have to wear a mask in public, Valente said.

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority, Metro-North’s parent agency, has followed guidance from the state Department of Health endorsed by Gov. Kathy Hochul, keeping in place a mandate from the early days of the pandemic.

“Obviously it comes from a good place,” Valente said. “But at this point in the pandemic, we’re on an island and it’s doing more harm than good. Mask optional is the way to go.”

Other MTA agencies, including the Long Island Rail Road and city subways are also required to follow the mask mandate.

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Other agencies go mask optional

But sister agencies in neighboring states have made mask use optional in recent weeks.

"You come off a New Jersey Transit train with no mask,” Valente said. “CT Rail, no mask. Amtrak, you don't need a mask. Airlines, you don't need a mask. Mixed messaging is never good."

At the end of May, a conductor was assaulted by a passenger on the Harlem Line train between the Crestwood and Scarsdale stops when she told a passenger she had to put on a mask, Valente said.

The conductor injured her hand during a struggle. The passenger was charged with assault.

Valente, a conductor, said he’s advised fellow conductors to avoid confrontations.

“My suggestion is make the announcement,” Valente said. “Don’t get into any face-to-face confrontations over someone not wearing a mask.”

Anthony Simon, who heads the LIRR’s largest union, said his members have also been harassed and assaulted by passengers in disputes over mask compliance as well as fares.

“Enforcement is near impossible and our crews are at risk every day just verbally conveying the mandate,” Simon said. “I would support masks being highly recommended but not mandated on the LIRR for both customers and employees.”

A decision on whether to ease mask mandates would have to come from the governor, with guidance from state health officials. A spokesperson for Hochul could not immediately be reached for comment.

In a statement, Cathy Rinaldi, the president of Metro-North and the Long Island Rail Road, praised the work of MTA employees during the pandemic.

“Any assault on an employee is outrageous and unacceptable, and perpetrators should face the toughest possible consequences,” Rinaldi said. “Metro-North employees have kept the region moving safely throughout the pandemic, and we are grateful for their service, professionalism and dedication.”

As recently as September, Metro-North was continuing to ticket passengers for not wearing a mask. Offenders faced a $50 fine.

But, Valente said, with nearly half the passengers on some trains going mask-less, police would need to shut down service just to write tickets. “You would call the police and they would hold up trains to write fines for hundreds of people,” he said.

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Conductors, cops assaulted

The MTA reported 28 assaults on Metro-North and the Long Island Rail Road during the first ten months of 2021. Half of those attacks were on police officers or conductors, an uptick fueled by a tense and sometimes dangerous environment on the rails during the pandemic, officials say.

One conductor had to lock herself inside a conductor compartment after being threatened by a passenger when she told him the train would not be making any more stops.

Another conductor needed stitches to close a gash to her face after a passenger struck her repeatedly with the stem of a pumpkin.

Valente and others said the assault tallies don’t factor in day-to-day confrontations that ticked upward during the pandemic.

“Every day, there’s back-and-forth contention about the mandate,” Valente said. “It’s unenforceable.”

This article originally appeared on New York State Team: Metro-North's biggest union wants to ease mask mandate on trains