Investigation under way after threats targeting some Golden Gate District bus drivers

SAN RAFAEL, Calif. - Golden Gate Transit officials have launched an investigation after flyers were discovered threatening to "rid" and "exterminate" certain bus drivers in the transit district.

The flyers appeared Monday morning at the San Rafael Transit Center and bus facility, Denis Mulligan, general manager of the Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District confirmed to KTVU.

The Golden GateTransit District said it was investigating threatening flyers targeting certain bus operators. The flyers were found on Monday, Aug. 16, 2021.

Mulligan also shared a copy of the flyer which named several Golden Gate Transit bus operators, accusing them of failing to pay dues to the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1575, while retaining union representation.

The flyer included aggressive and threatening language, saying, "Union Tradition, when dealing with Freeloading Scabs, is to rid them from our midst, by any means necessary, e.g. Exterminate….. Exterminate ….. Exterminate."

The message went on to say, "They must pay a price! Which may include agonizing discomfort and distress, such as: isolation, shunning, worries where they park their vehicles… live in fear of the unexpected, always looking over their shoulders."

The flyer also named several other workers, identifying them as "potential scabs," calling them anti-union and accusing them of challenging recent election results.

"We immediately launched an investigation," the district’s general manager said, adding, "The investigation will determine who engaged in such inappropriate behavior."

The person or persons behind the flyer identified themselves as "The Pro Union Posse."

Union officials strongly condemned the threats and said that the flyer did not represent union leadership.

"ATU Local #1575 finds the letter that was posted deplorable, disgusting, has no place in this Union, no place at Golden Gate Transit, and no place in the world to be honest," the union’s president and business agent Shane Weinstein told KTVU.

Weinstein also said that in an effort to protect the bus operators targeted in the flyer, "We have requested that the Golden Gate Bridge pull each person who was named on the letter, be put out on paid administrative leave while the investigation is ongoing." The union leader went on to say, "Our #1 priority is safety of our members, so we are hopeful that the District will follow through in keeping every employee safe."

The transit agency promised definitive action against any acts of threat in the workplace.

"The Bridge District has a zero-tolerance policy of threatening violence within the workforce, so the employee who disseminated the flyer will be fired," Mulligan said.

The general manager also said that the San Rafael Police Department has been notified of the incident so that law enforcement can take appropriate action in the case.