Reality concerning passage of the Assault Bill

ACRE claims: they played a major role in the passage of the Assault Bill.

Reality is: the Assault Bill had lingered in various forms for approximately twenty years before ACRE requested for the bill to be re-introduced with the inclusion of coverage for train and engine service employees. The labor organization that actually performed the preponderance of the lobbying for the Assault Bill was TWU Local 100. Local 100 has an extensive Legislative Department and lobbying capacity. The headline on the front page of The Chief on October 11, 2002, was “Driver Assault Law a victory for TWU.” This was not an overstatement. The TWU's persistence and perhaps the heightened awareness of safety concerns and issues after 9/11, assured the passage of this Bill.