"They did not care about us": How a lack of pandemic preparedness created long-term distrust and dissatisfaction among New York City transit workers.

Introduction: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic thrust individuals from nonhealthcare occupations, such as public transit, into the role of frontline essential workers. Unlike frontline healthcare workers, these individuals lacked the training, experience, supplies, equipment, and supervision that would typically be expected for healthcare and first response personnel during a pandemic. New York City transit workers were particularly impacted due to high rates of mortality, illness, and quarantine and isolation, yet data are sparse on their perceptions of worksite preparedness and response.

Methods: Data from six focus groups with 25 unique participants, all in public-facing transit roles and members of the Transport Workers Union-Local 100 were analyzed using a modified grounded theory approach. Both inductive and deductive analyses were conducted using the Constant Comparative Method.

Results: Roughly 3 years after the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, participants continued to feel overlooked and unappreciated in their role as frontline workers. Three themes emerged from the data, including (1) lack of recognition as an essential worker, (2) lack of trust in the workplace, and (3) fear and concern regarding workplace safety and security.

Conclusions: The pandemic exacerbated longstanding workplace tensions and contributed to distrust, decreased worker satisfaction, high levels of fear regarding future pandemics, and concern regarding workplace safety. Representatives of workers, managers, and union leadership should cooperate on joint labor and management safety committees to build a climate of safety and trust. They should work closely with Metropolitan Transit Authority Safety leadership, with input from emergency managers, and infection control and industrial hygiene experts to develop a robust pandemic plan that can be rapidly implemented in the next pandemic event.