Am J Ind Med . COVID-19 mortality among Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) and Transport Workers Union (TWU) workers-March-July 2020, New York City metro area

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Am J Ind Med


. 2021 Aug 3.
doi: 10.1002/ajim.23281. Online ahead of print.
COVID-19 mortality among Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) and Transport Workers Union (TWU) workers-March-July 2020, New York City metro area


Suzanne E Tomasi ¹ , Alejandra Ramirez-Cardenas ² , Matthew S Thiese ³ , Jessica L Rinsky ⁴ , Sophia K Chiu ⁴ , Sara Luckhaupt ⁴ , Russell Bateman ⁵ , Sherry L Burrer ⁶



Affiliations

• PMID: 34346103
• DOI: 10.1002/ajim.23281

Abstract

Background: Transit workers have jobs requiring close public contact for extended periods of time, placing them at increased risk for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 infection and more likely to have risk factors for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)-related complications. Collecting timely occupational data can help inform public health guidance for transit workers; however, it is difficult to collect during a public health emergency. We used nontraditional epidemiological surveillance methods to report demographics and job characteristics of transit workers reported to have died from COVID-19.
Methods: We abstracted demographic and job characteristics from media scans on COVID-19 related deaths and reviewed COVID-19 memorial pages for the Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) and Transport Workers Union (TWU). ATU and TWU provided a list of union members who died from COVID-19 between March 1-July 7, 2020 and a total count of NYC metro area union members. Peer-reviewed publications identified through a scientific literature search were used to compile comparison demographic statistics of NYC metro area transit workers. We analyzed and reported characteristics of ATU and TWU NYC metro area decedents.
Results: We identified 118 ATU and TWU NYC metro area transit worker COVID-19 decedents with an incidence proportion of 0.3%. Most decedents were male (83%); median age was 58 years (range: 39-71). Median professional tenure was 20 years (range: 2-41 years). Operator (46%) was the most reported job classification. More than half of the decedents (57%) worked in positions associated with close public contact.
Conclusion: Data gathered through nontraditional epidemiological surveillance methods provided insight into risk factors among this workforce, demonstrating the need for mitigation plans for this workforce and informing transit worker COVID-19 guidance as the pandemic progressed.

Keywords: COVID-19; New York City transit workers; essential workers; occupational health.