Left to right: Mike Perrault, Patrick Coomer, Bill Bradley

On March 11th, ATU-757 Vice-President Henry Beasley drove to Salem with members that had been affected by violence directed towards them while on the job. Their goal for the day was to testify in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee on Senate Bill 1124, which would expand the crime of assaulting a Public Transit Operator from "while in control of the vehicle" to "during the course of official duties". The resulting penalty would be a Class C Felony if someone were to assault an operator while on duty. ATU 757 members and transit workers nationwide have been dealing with an epidemic of violence directed their way, and it has resulted in some workers not making it home. See below for the powerful testimony delivered by these three individuals and we thank them for their strength to share their experiences.

ATU 757 Member Mike Perrault Testimony

ATU 757 Member Patrick Coomer Testimony

ATU 757 Vice-President Henry Beasley Testimony

Lane Transit District General Manager Jameson Auten, TriMet Executive Director Andrew Wilson, and ATU 757 Executive Board Officer Bill Bradley all testified in favor of the bill and encouraged swift passage. On March 17th, the bill was passed out of the Senate Judiciary Committee with a bipartisan unanimous vote to send it to the floor with a "Do Pass" recommendation. ATU 757 will continue to push for this bill all the way to the Governor's Desk.

There will be more opportunities to provide both written and verbal testimony when the bill lands in the House Judiciary Committee, so stay tuned!