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To the editor:
In the latest exam for subway train operator, Train Operator exam 7603, the MTA has asked applicants to have a valid New York State driver's license.
I drove a train for over 30 years and when I was promoted to train operator in 1984, there was no requirement for either a driver's license or a high school diploma. If you were able to pass the test, it was demonstration of sufficiently literacy to do the job.
Asking for a New York State driver's license is discriminatory. It is class discrimination, as well as gender discrimination and it is discrimination against New York City residents too.
Over 50 percent of the residents of New York City do not possess a driver's license. They are often the poorest New Yorkers. So, it is more difficult for low-income people to qualify for the train operator position.
It is gender discrimination because men in New York City are more likely to have drivers' licenses than women.
The requirement of a driver’s license makes it easier for some MTA job titles such as bus operators to be promoted while MTA employees from lower paid titles are more likely not to have a driver’s license.
People from counties outside New York City are more likely to have a driver's license so this requirement discriminates against New York City residents.
It’s discrimination against people who live in the five boroughs because they are more likely not to have a driver's license.
One of the goals of the Metropolitan Transit Authority is to cut down on the number of people using cars to get to work. Then they go ahead and make it difficult for people who follow this policy to get jobs with the MTA.
Removing the driver’s license requirement will open the train operator to more NYC residents.
Kevin Harrington
The author is a retired train operator.
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jag1199
It is not discrimination, it is a requirement for the position. Every job has requirements, as required by the company hiring for the position. STOP with trying to make something discrimination when it's not. Just because it wasn't required in 1984 doesn't mean it's not required today. Requirements change for different reasons. If you want the job, you will make sure you have the requirement otherwise don't apply or take a test if you refuse to get the requirements
Wednesday, August 5 Report this
wpeakes
@Kevin Harrington
I respectfully disagree. Job requirements often get updated to respond to newer technologies and other factors that address a needed skill. Asking newly-hired train operators to have a valid NYS drivers license fits perfectly with the basic responsibilities of the job: operating a motor vehicle.
Wednesday, August 5 Report this
RailScout
Brother Harrington is absolutely correct. Had there been a requirement for a drivers' license for employment when I started as a Conductor or when I was promoted to Motorman (as it was in those days), I would never have been able to have the successful, satisfying 37-year career with the MTA (at both the NYCTA and Metro-North) that I had. Although I personally had a high school diploma when I hired out, I saw with my own eyes how well people without a high-school diploma or GED could do the job - and conversely, how awful a job some people with a college education did.
Wednesday, August 5 Report this
hendersonemil149
It's not discrimination: Nys Vehicle Traffic Law 125 trains are defined as a motor vehicle, its states in Nys VTL "any vehicles which run only upon rails or tracks" IS A MOTOR VEHICLE, it's the law!
My question is keeping the job dependent maintaining a valid Nys Driver's License, of course also how can you operate a passenger train, if you have moving violations as motorist and continuous accidents, not only is it the law there are safety issues to be considered.
Tuesday, August 11 Report this
Valete
The Operator
The train is long and heavy. It runs in the dark beneath the city. To hold the handle and move the iron requires a steady hand. In the old days, a man needed only his wits and a passing grade. The world changed. The machines grew complex.
A driver’s license is not a tool of exclusion. It is a measure of a man’s discipline before the law. The rules of the road are the rules of the track. If a man cannot navigate the streets with a clean record, he cannot be trusted with ten cars of passengers in a blackout. When the grid fails, the operator must move by truck, by utility wagon, or by foot to where the work is. He must be mobile.
To call the license a barrier for the poor is to misunderstand the task. The state charges a small fee for the card. The authority waives the cost for those who have nothing. Gender and borough do not matter to the signals or the brakes. The air brakes demand absolute compliance.
The city has grown up. The old requirements belong to a simpler time. Today, the city demands a higher standard to protect its people. The license is a simple truth. It proves a citizen can handle the machine.
Tuesday, August 11 Report this
Valete
Hiring must be fair and safe.
A train operator needs a valid NYS driver’s license.
This is just.
It is not discrimination.
It keeps riders alive.
Wednesday, August 12 Report this