News

    Michigan Bills Protecting Bus/Transit         and Passenger Workers Advance 

SMART Transportation Division Michigan State Legislative Director Don Roach reports that two bills supported by the union have taken a step forward in the state Legislature after receiving a key committee endorsement.

 

HB 4917 and HB 4918 seek to enhance protections for transportation workers by establishing more severe punishments for people who assault Amtrak employees, transit workers and bus operators.

 

The bills raise punishments for the assault of a transportation operator to a maximum of eight years, depending on the severity of the offense. They also make the punishments for repeat offenses more severe and adjust the state's sentencing guidelines accordingly.

 

Fines for assault on transportation workers also would be increased -- set at $1,000 or $8,000.

 

The bills, introduced July 18, were passed through the House's Criminal Justice Committee with a recommendation from the committee for passage by the full House. A date for the legislation to be considered has not yet been set.

 

The bills' primary sponsor is state Rep. Samantha Steckloff of Michigan's 19th District.


L-R, BLE Legislative Director BJ Trumble, SMART TD State Director Don Roach, Amtrak 168 Local Chairman Nate Hatton, State Represantive Samantha Steckloff, testify at the House Criminal Justice Committee.

L-168, CHICAGO, ILL.

FEB. 2023

The heroics of Amtrak crew members saved two lives just outside of Ann Arbor, Mich.

In June 2022, Amtrak conductor Devourie Nesby, and his assistant conductor Desiray Campbell, both of Local 168, were west- bound to Chicago from Pontiac, Mich., aboard Amtrak 355 with 225 passengers. On a bridge over the Huron River going 55 mph, the train encountered two pedestrians on the tracks. When the train came to a stop, Brother Nesby, a former U.S. air marshal, jumped into action. He said that the train stopped roughly a mile after the impact. When he got back to the scene, the first thing he saw was the young lady lying face down on the embankment of the river and believed that it was a fatality. As he approached, he realized she was alive. Conductor Nesby comforted the young lady, who was in shock, and assured that EMS were en route.

When the young lady had calmed, Nesby asked if she knew the where- abouts of the young man she was with. She pointed to the river. "When I saw him floating face down in the river, I jumped in and pulled him to the shore without even thinking about what I was doing." Nesby said. The young man was severely injured, with a compound arm fracture and was fading out of consciousness. Nesby worked to keep the man from slipping away and control his breathing. When EMS arrived, they took control of the scene.

Two lives were saved, but Nesby was quick to give credit to Campbell. "I could not have had a better AC that day. Desiray took control of the situation and kept the 225 passengers calm and informed through the entire situation."

He commended her poise in an emergency and said it was especially impressive to him because she was a very new employee. Sister Campbell had been hired out in May and the incident occurred less than a month later on the evening of June 5. Brother Nesby wanted it noted that on some tours of duty, he doesn't have an assistant conductor due to manpower shortages. He wanted it to be known that if he was responsible for attending to the passengers, the radio communications, and attending to the people who were hit, that there would have been a much worse outcome that day.

SMART-TD wants to thank Brother Nesby and Sister Campbell for their actions that day and for being wonderful representatives of our membership in a moment of crisis.