Perhaps more of a concern in general than in 2008 alone, but this year has certainly proven to be quite a popular time for failed drug tests by MBTA operators.
The MBTA's policy stipulates that if an operator fails a drug test immediately after an accident, then he or she is automatically terminated. If an operator fails a drug test at random, then he or she is afforded a second chance following a 40-day unpaid suspension. Some will argue that not all cases and conditions deserve a second chance; especially when the fate of the lives of innocent & unsuspecting passengers is in the palm of one individual's hands.
Of the 77 operators cited for failed drug & alcohol tests since 2006, 54 employees still remain on the job. With over 8,700 employees randomly tested, the percentage of violators falls in line with public transit workers in cities across the country.
Transportation analysts have expressed that the MBTA revisit this policy and adjust it to a one strike policy rather than two to further enforce the severity of this penalty. Members of both the MBTA Riders Oversight Committee and the Legislature's Transportation Committee are not proponents of second chances. General manager Dan Grabauskas has defended the MBTA's efforts in regard to random drug testing and has been commended by the FTA for the frequency with which these tests have been given.
Perhaps 2009 will cause a reduction in violating operators.
Comments
How many of those testing positive after accidents were from amongst the 54 who had previously failed a random test? Aren't those 54 subject to additional follow-up testing, such that those are the only 54 people at the T who we <know> aren't using?
Also, who are the many FTA spokespeople urging a change at the T? This would be an important precedent, since transit providers are allowed by regulation to choose how they discipline employees.
Those urging a change in policy include members of the MBTA Riders Oversight Committee & members of the Legislature's Transportation Committee.
FTA spokesman, Paul Griffo, had actually stated that the MBTA's failure rate falls in line with other transit systems across the country.
I will retract & edit my former statement toward the end of this article.
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