May 16, 2012
Just as LaborPress was ready to interview Kevin Harrington of TWU Local 100, we learned that an individual was struck by an oncoming L train this morning. According to the union, two to three fatalities occur each week. Harrington noted that the common perception is that each fatality is a suicide, but many times individuals are struck because they’re inadvertently pushed off narrow platforms or they’re inebriated. Harrington, who’s the Vice President of the union’s Rapid Transit Operations and represents all train operators and conductors in the system, said a close friend couldn’t return to work as a train operator because of the trauma he suffered after someone jumped in front of his train.
