Researchers at New York University’s School of Global Public Health will be studying the effects the COVID-19 pandemic had on the physical and mental health on New York transit workers.
Working with the Transit Workers Union Local 100 (TWU), the researchers will be looking at the Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA) and the bus and subway employees, and how they operated since the onset of the pandemic.
“Our research aims to identify and better understand the individual and workplace factors that put this essential workforce at risk for COVID-19, in an effort to protect their health and well-being,” Robyn Gershon, clinical professor of epidemiology at NYU School of Global Public Health, who will lead the research project, said. “We need to address this important gap in our knowledge about occupational exposure to coronavirus, and use these findings to determine what additional protective measures are needed going forward.”
The MTA is the largest mass transit system in the United States. Since the onset of the pandemic, the transit system has remained in operation in order to ensure essential workers get to their jobs.
But that has taken a toll on the workers, officials said. Ninety of TWU Local 100 have died, and thousands have been infected with COVID-19. Officials said transit workers are much more likely to become infected because of their contact with the public. Additionally, safety measures, like masks, frequent cleaning and decontaminating, and social distancing, were not put in place until after the virus was already widespread throughout the city.
“This will be the first time outside public health experts gather information from transit workers about their experiences during the pandemic and put the MTA’s actions under the microscope. We can’t bring back our fallen heroes. But we can keep working to improve safety on the job and that’s what this is all about,” Tony Utano, president of TWU Local 100, said. “Local 100 has been consulting with experts from the NYU School of Global Public Health for several months as we faced this unprecedented COVID-19 crisis. This is an important next step not just for NY transit workers but transit workers everywhere.”
The first part of the research project is a pilot study, consisting of virtual focus groups, interviews, and an anonymous survey of transit workers. The survey will be conducted this month with roughly 200 workers.
The study will look at the risks transit workers faced during the beginning of the pandemic, whether the actions MTA took came soon enough and whether or not they were effective. The study will also look at how the pandemic may be hurting workers’ mental health.