Former workers claim racism, other ‘toxic’ workplace issues at Pittsburgh Regional Transit

Pittsburgh Regional Transit said it will look into allegations of widespread racial discrimination, bullying and nepotism alleged by a coalition of former and current employees.

But the agency said it stands by its disciplinary decisions involving the four employees who made the claims during a news conference and the PRT board’s monthly meeting Friday.

Chaz Williams, a former PRT bus driver, said he’s the chairman of the Coalition of Concerned Transit Workers, a group of 50 to 60 former and current PRT employees. He said at the news conference that the group met with elected officials and other community leaders in recent weeks to tell them about the “toxic culture” at the agency before taking their concerns to the board Friday and calling for an investigation of the claims.

“We’re not asking for any special treatment,” Williams said. “We just want to be treated like everyone else.”

CEO Katharine Eagan Kelleman wasn’t available after the meeting, and board member Stephanie Turman, a Black woman who often raises issues involving minorities, declined comment. Spokesman Adam Brandolph said the agency hadn’t previously heard the group’s concerns but said the agency stands behind the action it took against those employees who spoke Friday.

“I’m sure we’ll look into their claims,” he said. “If there is an issue systemically, I’m sure we would want to look into that.”

Later, the agency issued an official statement.

“PRT stands by its employment decisions, including disciplinary action up to and including termination where just cause supported it. However, we take accusations of mistreatment of our employees very seriously.”

The agency said it already requires annual equal employment opportunity and unconscious bias training for all employees, but it expects to add additional training for managers before the end of the year.

“PRT acknowledges that while we all hold unconscious beliefs, they should never play a role in employee discipline,” the statement said.

Williams and Sascha Craig, who was disciplined and later cleared for wearing a Black Lives Matter mask at work during the pandemic, said there have been numerous times when African American employees have been involved in similar workplace incidents as white employees. White employees received suspensions while African Americans were fired, they said.

Overall, they alleged about five dozen minority employees have been fired over the past 10 to 15 years compared to less than a dozen white workers. PRT was unable to provide figures Friday on how many employees have been fired over that time period or their race.

Williams said he was fired in May 2021 after a pedestrian with close ties to the board claimed Williams tried to drive his bus into the pedestrian’s family as the group was crossing the street at Penn Avenue and Seventh Street in Downtown Pittsburgh. Williams said he was driving the prescribed speed in that area and didn’t know why the man got upset and chased his bus.

The agency attempted to fire Craig, a driver trainer, after the mask incident for claiming time he hadn’t worked on his pay card, but an arbitrator returned him to work. He retired in 2020.

Shelly Alston, who worked in human relations, said she had been with the agency for 20 years when she was fired after claiming nepotism caused someone else to get a promotion to a job she wanted. She was fired for working a part-time job while she was on sick leave.

Fonda Duse, who was fired as director of diversity, equity and inclusion, gave the board a list of managers Friday who she said she had seen act inappropriately with other employees.

Williams and Craig said they had no problem with the way their union handled the cases against them; Alston and Duse were managers without union protection, but Alston has filed a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

Ross Nicotero, president and business agent of Local 85 of the Amalgamated Transit Union, declined comment on whether he thought PRT filed a disproportionate number of discipline cases and dismissal notices against Black employees.

“I think we have too many people terminated period,” he said.