Why Did A Pregnant Conductor Have To Do Hard Labor?

Conductor who lost her baby is suing the MTA [View this email in your browser]( After Subway Conductor Loses Baby, Changes Are Finally Coming For Pregnant MTA Workers Plus: A good Samaritan is getting free subway rides for a year after tackling an alleged train vandal. So far, only one person has been fined for not wearing a mask in the transit system. And three MTA employees were busted for creating a man cave beneath the tracks at Grand Central Terminal. By [James Ramsay](mailto:james@wnyc.org?subject=We%20the%20Commuters) [a portrait of train conductor Jillian Williams] Jillian Williams This past June, right as Jillian Williams was completing her mandatory one-year probation period as a new subway conductor, her pregnancy was taking a toll. Her feet were swollen and painful; she'd limp to her car after work. And when she finally decided to ask for lighter duties, she faced a bureaucratic nightmare trying to get what's called an "accommodation." Someone in her crew office told her to call the Equal Employment Office. They sent her back to the crew office. She called a pregnant transit workers hotline, which never responded. Finally, someone told her she needed to see one of the MTA's doctors to get her request approved. On a Friday, she made an appointment for the following Monday. But that Saturday, Williams still had to work — she was called to the East New York rail yard, where her task was to manually crank a 20-pound switch that moves trains into place. At a certain point, she started to feel cramps. Then her water broke. "And then I started feeling the baby moving, and I started screaming," Williams said. "And then I remember I got on the radio, 'Dispatcher to the deck, I need EMS.'" They couldn’t understand her. A train operator ran over to help her. "By then, my baby was crowned, so I’m waddling back to the shack, my baby’s literally between my legs," she said. She made it to the shack, a dirty one-room structure, with no electricity, a shelf, a table, and a chair. "I was on the floor with mad blood," Williams said. According to Williams, it took 15 to 20 minutes for an ambulance to arrive. Her mother showed up while she waited. Shortly after, at the hospital, her baby girl was pronounced dead. Williams blames the MTA for the death of her baby, and has joined a lawsuit with three other women suing the agency for violating a 2014 New York City Human Rights Law meant to protect women from "pregnancy discrimination." Dina Bakst, an outside legal expert on these cases, told Gothamist that under the law, Williams shouldn’t have had to provide a doctor’s note — let alone go to the MTA's own doctor — to get approved for lighter duties. The MTA wouldn’t answer questions about the process for getting accommodations, or say how many pregnant women receive them each year. It also declined to discuss Williams' case because of the lawsuit. But several MTA employees did tell Gothamist that following the death of Williams' child, the agency agreed to create a liaison in each department who will work with employees to find accommodations. They also plan to put up new posters with a hotline number that actually works. (As of now, neither the posters nor the liaisons are in place.) Williams said she’s glad to hear the MTA will make it easier for pregnant women to get accommodations, but she wishes it would have happened sooner. "Why did me and my kid have to be sacrificial lambs for you guys to realize that you all should've been did that?" she said. — [Reporting by Stephen Nessen]( A Good Samaritan Is Getting A Year Of Free Subway Rides After Catching The Guy Who Allegedly Derailed An A Train [a close-up of Rikien Wilder with his giant MetroCard prize] MTA Moments after an A train derailed at the 14th Street/8th Avenue station Sunday morning, Manhattan resident Rikien Wilder, above, tackled the man who'd allegedly put metal obstacles on the tracks. On Wednesday, the MTA honored Wilder for his heroism by giving him a year's worth of free subway rides, along with a "New York Tough" t-shirt. Prior to apprehending the suspect, Wilder had spotted the alleged vandal putting objects on the tracks. Wilder then climbed down and removed some of them, saving one train from derailing. But when Wilder went to tell a station clerk what happened, the suspect did it again — causing an A train to crash. (The NYPD said all 134 passengers were safely evacuated, and there were no serious injuries.) [an A train that derailed] MTA flickr "It kind of angered me a little bit because he seemed to get some joy out of wrecking the train," Wilder told the [New York Post](. "Watching him smile and watching the train wreck, the fire and the smoke, it was like being on, you know, a Hollywood set. My adrenaline kicked in and I was like, 'I have to do something about it.'" Wilder then chased down the suspect, 30-year-old Demetrius Harvard, and pinned him to the ground for 15 minutes before the NYPD came and put Harvard in handcuffs. The police, who charged Harvard on Monday with reckless endangerment, criminal mischief, assault, and criminal trespass, said he'd also been arrested earlier this month for allegedly tossing a metal bench through a bus window. — Reporting by [Jen Chung]( and [Jake Offenhartz]( SEE IT: The Secret 'Man Cave' Hidden In The Bowels Of Grand Central Terminal [a wooden box partially covers a futon in the man cave discovered in Grand Central] MTA Inspector General's Office MTA Inspector General Carolyn Pokorny said her office found a "man cave" under the tracks at Grand Central Terminal after an anonymous tipster ratted out three Metro-North workers who allegedly used the room to "hang out and get drunk and party." The hidden lair, which contained a futon, a wall-mounted flatscreen TV, a mini fridge, a microwave, and some exercise equipment, was deemed a fire hazard by the IG's office. The windowless room is, itself, located within another storage room beneath Track 114. Pokorny said her office investigated the room after receiving a second tip about it. She'd first asked Metro-North to look into a previous complaint, but apparently nothing came of that. The three employees who hung out in there — a wireman, a carpenter foreman, and an electrical foreman — were all suspended without pay, pending further disciplinary action. — [Reporting by Jen Chung and Stephen Nessen]( Here's What Else Is Happening Only one person has been fined so far for not wearing a mask on the subway. MTA police said Wednesday that they gave a $50 ticket to a man who was allegedly drunk and harassed a Penn Station employee last Saturday. MTA Chair Pat Foye said yesterday that while only one summons has been issued, the police have "helped" 3,200 people put a mask on since the fine went into effect on September 14th. ([New York Post]( Vandals have caused over $2 million in damage this year by breaking subway windows and digital screens in subway stations. According to NYPD statistics, robberies, rapes, and murders in the transit system have also increased, though overall felonies — namely, theft — are down this year. New York City Transit's interim chief, Sarah Feinberg, said these issues call for more cops on trains. "We have long called for more uniformed police and security in the transit system because we know that a law enforcement presence traditionally deters and prevents crime in our system," she said. "This is crucial now more than ever as we work to bring riders back." ([THE CITY]( The MTA might ask the Federal Reserve for a $2.9 billion loan if it doesn't get the federal bailout it wants. MTA board member Larry Schwartz said yesterday that if federal pandemic relief doesn't materialize — a plan is currently stalled in Congress — the transit agency should borrow money from the Fed, which would come at a 1.8% interest rate. "That is the cheapest money the MTA will ever be able to get as a loan," said Schwartz. But some budget watchdogs have warned that the MTA, which already has a debt load over $45 billion, can't afford to borrow more money. ([The Wall Street Journal]( NJ Transit said it has no immediate plan to fine riders for not wearing masks, but it does have the authority to issue summonses if people don't comply. The transit agency, in response to the MTA's new $50 fine for refusing to wear a mask, said it's so far seeing "the overwhelming majority of customers complying" with its rules. Similar to the MTA, NJ Transit is also giving out free masks at major terminals, and transit police are carrying extra masks to hand out in the event they see a rider without one. ([NJ.com]( [the logo for WQXR's classical commute playlist, featuring an illustration of Beethoven sticking his head out a conductor's window]( Though it's 75 degrees in New York City this afternoon, autumn did technically start on Tuesday. And nothing says autumn in New York like "Autumn in New York," the song by Vernon Duke. Hear a lovely piano version of the tune, along with other seasonal hits, in this week's Classical Commute playlist, from WQXR. [It's streaming for free on Spotify](. Weekend Service Changes: Night of September 25th – Early Morning on September 28th This is a partial list of major service disruptions scheduled for the weekend. For a complete list of the MTA's Weekender updates, [check here](. Note: The entire subway system is closed each night from 1 a.m. to 5 a.m. until further notice. Downtown and trains will skip 28 St, 23 St, 18 St, Christopher St, Houston St, Canal St and Franklin St. trains will not run between Bowling Green and Utica Av/New Lots Av. On Saturday and Sunday, Hudson Yards-bound trains will skip 69 St, 52 St, 46 St, 40 St and 33 St. On Saturday and Sunday, trains will not run between Broadway Junction and Rockaway Pkwy. trains will not run between Church Av and Coney Island-Stillwell Av. [Check here]( for complete details about the Long Island Rail Road. For NJ Transit, [check here]( for the latest service advisories. [a close-up of James Ramsay sitting on a vespa] James Ramsay wants a giant novelty MetroCard. (Photo by Amy Pearl) Support WNYC + Gothamist Make a donation to support local, independent journalism. Your contributions are our largest source of funding and pays for essential transportation coverage and more. [Donate]( Copyright © 2020 New York Public Radio, All rights reserved. Our mailing address is: New York Public Radio 160 Varick Street New York, NY 10013 [unsubscribe]( [update preferences]( [privacy policy](