May 23, 2012
By Ray Parker Staff Writer
Three MTA Bus Operators at Kingsbridge Depot in the Bronx have taken a stand against sustained, harassing behavior by Bus Dispatcher Earl Bryant. They say it must stop – and TWU Local 100 officers and members came out to underline that message by demonstrating in the lobby of the MTA office
tower at 2 Broadway on May 21.
The story first broke over the weekend when MTA Bus Operator Nancy Jenkins told the Daily News about an incident that the MTA tried to hush up – the
unacceptable behavior of Earl Bryant when he licked her face after trying to kiss her on April 9th. Other women and one man have come forward to speak about their personal experiences of harassment from Dispatcher Bryant, making it clear that what happened to Jenkins was not an isolated incident.
Teresa Garcia, also a Bus Operator at Kingsbridge who has 13 years with New York City Transit, said Bryant tried to pull her through an office window to kiss her back in January. She has known Bryant as a colleague since 1999, and describes him as generally being free with verbally abusive comments but only recently crossing the line to physical assault.
TWU Local 100 President John Samuelsen told news crews that if a Bus Operator had done the same thing to a co-worker or a boss he would have been suspended on the spot. He called for an end to the disparate treatment of Bus Operators and Dispatchers.
