Members of the Committee on the Judiciary listen to testimony in the Gardner Auditorium at the Massachusetts State House.

This past Tuesday, Local 589’s President John Lee testified at the State House in support of legislation, S 718,  to help stem the rise of attacks on MBTA employees.

The bill, sponsored by Sen. Sal DiDomenico, would allow police, with probable cause, to arrest suspects who assault public employees. As the law stands now, unless a police officer actually sees the attack in progress, there’s little they can do except issue a summons and hope the suspect shows up in court.

“Even if the driver and passengers identify a suspect to police, the person is released because the officer did not witness the attack,” Lee said. “This sends a very dangerous message and, frankly, is unacceptable. I hope the committee moves quickly to pass this legislation, which will send a clear message that these heinous acts will not be tolerated.”

According to a recent story on WBUR, the number of violent assaults on MBTA employees, such as bus drivers, has been soaring in 2013. As of early June, there were 50 attacks on MBTA bus drivers, compared to 33 the same time last year.

According to a statement on Sen. DiDomenico’s website, “while everyone is entitled to a safe workplace, this is often not the case for our public employees, like bus drivers and train operators, who often work late hours and are isolated while on the job. This important legislation will effectively give police officers another tool to combat crimes against MBTA workers.”

Currently, the legislation is sitting in the Joint Committee on the Judiciary.