![]() ![]() So I’m trying not to be critical of the agency. We have a long way to go to actually get into what really is the root causes of some of the angst and some of what caused an individual to resort to what happened that day where that individual felt they had no other option. ![]() (Karl Mondon/MediaNews Group/The Mercury News via Getty Images)ĭo you feel like the VTA has done its part on this front? VTA union president John Courtney (left) arrives for a vigil Thursday, May 27, 2021, to honor nine VTA colleagues killed in a mass shooting in San José the previous day. And then in particular, in public transit, when you’re interfacing with the public, every time that door opens, every time you see someone new, it’s another situation and it’s constant. Now we have other resources available, including peer support, where our own union members have been trained to recognize some difficult situations that some of our members may be going through. You know, we don’t like to use the term “red flag” anymore, but we’ve been able to perhaps look at folks who may be struggling and maybe identify that they need help and offer them avenues of help. We’ve been able to establish some procedures along the lines of safety, with the help of SB 129, a Senate bill pushed along by. How much of a priority has safety in the workplace become? What conversations are you having about this within the union? Well, through a lot of therapy, I’ve come a long way, but there still is trepidation to actually even enter some places that I have to endure in regards to working and interfacing with our members. What about just going to work? How safe have you felt at work since that tragedy that took the lives of nine of your co-workers? John Courtney: It’s not an easy place to be, when I have to relive what we’ve all gone through. How does it feel when you hear of one? Does it take you back to that day almost instantaneously? ![]() This interview has been edited for brevity and clarity.īrian Watt: So it seems daily that mass shootings take place in our country. That issue resurfaced earlier this year after a mass shooting at two mushroom farms in Half Moon Bay.Ĭourtney, president of the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 265, which represents VTA workers, talked to KQED’s Brian Watt about the efforts made to prioritize workplace safety since the VTA shooting, one of the deadliest in Bay Area history. The gunman had a history of disputes with co-workers, and the attack reignited debates over workplace safety. “I’ve been able to come a long way and I don’t think I’m where I need to be just yet.” So I’ve been able to address through many sessions with a therapist,” he said. “The therapy that I’ve received, basically been diagnosed with severe PTSD, which leads to anxiety and depression. The gunman, also a VTA employee, took his own life, too. John Courtney is still processing his day at work on May 26, 2021, when a gunman shot and killed nine of Courtney’s co-workers at a Valley Transportation Authority rail yard station in San José. ![]()
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