Public Employee Press

New legislation protects TEAs from assault

Gov. David Paterson signed a law July 22 that sharply raises the penalty for assaulting Police Dept. Traffic Enforcement Agents, who have campaigned for years to get better protection against violence on the job.

“It’s been a long time coming,” said Local 983 Vice President Marvin Robbins, a TEA 3.
“Some time after I came on the job in 1989, a police horse was assaulted and the next year a law was passed to protect police horses and dogs,” Robbins said. “Meanwhile, nobody acted on the cries of the workers for better protections until now.”

To win the legislation, Motor Vehicle Operators Local 983 worked with Communications Workers of America Local 1182, which represents TEA 1s and 2s, known to the public as meter maids. The TEA 3s and 4s in Local 983 operate tow trucks and patrol construction sites.

“We get cussed at, we get humiliated,” said Gary Lewis, a shop steward, who says he’s lucky to have escaped being injured by an irate driver in his 25 years on the job.

Dozens of assaults occur each year, Lewis said. “I have had some real close calls. I just try to be professional, assertive and look people in the eye. We are law enforcement people and we deserve this law.”

One TEA miscarried two days after she was assaulted. Local 983 member Radames Morales found himself looking down the barrel of a gun as he prepared to tow a car. Fortunately, he wasn’t harmed.

The new law classifies an assault on a Traffic Enforcement Agent as a class D felony with a sentence of 21/2 to 7 years in prison. Previously, such an assault was a misdemeanor with a maximum sentence of 1 year in jail and a fine of up to $1,000.

“Our members face danger on the job every day,” said Local 983 President Mark Rosenthal. “With this law, they are getting the respect they deserve.”

“It’s a step forward that TEAs have won improved protection on the job,” said Lee Clarke, head of the DC 37 Safety and Health Dept. “On-the-job violence is a daily concern for civil service workers in all occupational groups. We have kept this issue on the front burner for years, and we believe strongly that there should be equal protections for all civil servants.”