The Winnipeg Transit Union is speaking out after Brian Kyle Thomas was found guilty of second-degree murder in the death of bus driver Irvine Jubal Fraser.
Fraser worked as a city transit driver for 19 years, but Valentine’s Day 2017 was Fraser’s last shift after he was stabbed by Thomas outside of his bus’s doors.
“We want to be clear, that every worker has a right to a safe and respectful workplace,” said Aleem Chaudhary, head of the drivers’ union ATU 1505.
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“No one deserves to be assaulted or killed on the job.”
Following the stabbing, safety has a been a major concern for Winnipeg bus drivers.
The city’s Executive Policy Committee recently voted to install bus driver safety shields in city buses in the next year.
Chaudhary said the operators were pleased to see progress on enhanced safety measures. But the stabbing lingers in many city transit drivers’ minds.
“We know how difficult these two years have been for the entire transit family.”
Even with the guilty verdict, Chaudhary says the push for transit safety won’t end.
“As a union, we will never stop fighting and speaking out for the rights of our members to work in a safe workplace.”