Union Fights T Agent's Firing After Altercation

BOSOTN (CBS) - The union representing MBTA workers is defending a customer service agent who stands to lose her job after an on-the-job altercation.

Surveillance video from inside the Back Bay station shows the female agent taking swings at a customer last month. That customer had asked for directions earlier and returned to complain that he had gotten lost. Stuart Wilkerson said the agent attacked him when he asked to speak with her supervisor.

The MBTA moved to fire the agent when the video emerged, but the Boston Carmen's Union says – not so fast.

Larry Kelley of Carmen's Union defends T worker

They say Wilkerson admitted he had been drinking; and they allege he used vulgar language and stuck his finger in the agent's face during their first encounter. When he returned to confront her about getting lost, the agent feared for her safety.

"She was literally and figuratively backed into a corner," said Larry Kelley with the Boston Carmen's Union. "This was the second altercation she had had with this gentleman in a five minute span, because he was upset that he and his partner had got lost."

Kelley says an extended version of the video adds context to the confrontation. He said Wilkerson approached the agent with his cell phone extended.

Larry Kelley explains extended video

Kelley said the agent has an exemplary record over the last three years and they will fight her termination. A hearing was scheduled for Friday.