Rail & Labor News from RWU
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Weekly Digest Number 52 - December 26th, 2023 | |
Welcome to the RWU Rail & Labor News! This news bulletin is produced and emailed out each Tuesday morning. We hope you find each week's news and information useful. If so, please share with co-workers, friends, and colleagues. If you like, you can sign them up to get all the news from RWU HERE. Or forward them the link. Note: If you read over this news bulletin each week, you will be sure to never miss the important news of what is going on in the railroad world from a worker's perspective!
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Editor's Note: Workers get injured or killed and ... the railroad blames them for their injuries and deaths. This is no accident. With corporate "safety" slogans like "All accidents and injuries are avoidable" and "You will achieve the level of safety you seek," the only logical conclusion that can follow if/when you get hurt on the job is that it is your fault. This is the scam known as "Behavior Based Safety" (BS for short). RWU has been campaigning against BS for 16 years now. | |
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Jessica Lussenhop and Topher Sanders / Dec 19
After brakeman Chris Cole lost both his legs on the job, railroad officials removed evidence before state regulators could see it, omitted key facts in reports and suspended him from a job he could never return to. “The culture of management is that we are going to cover ourselves and cover the railroad and make sure that it doesn’t look bad in the public eye,” Cole said. “And if we got to bury one of our employees, or somebody else, we’re going to do that.”
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Editor's Note: First documented by ProPublica in the fall, the blocked crossings in this town continue, and kids continue to be blocked and unable to get to school, leading to them climbing over and under the train to get to the other side. Just one more hazard - in communities acropss the country - with these extremely long trains. | |
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Max Lubbers / Dec 14
Months ago, footage of kids crawling under and over stopped train cars at a railroad crossing put the spotlight on Hammond, Ind. Reset checks in back with a reporter for an update on what has changed since – especially as a new video shows a train car moving forward as a young girl tries to walk across.
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Editor's Note: While the enviros ask for some things that are just plain idiotic - like running fewer trains at dawn and dusk and reducing speeds on curves - some of the simpler asks - such as removing animal carcasses and spilt grain from between the rails - are well within bounds and relatively inexpensive to implement. But, since BNSF cannot even trim brush along its right-of-way to protect human lives, it is unlikely they will give a damn enough about bears to spend anything on their lives. | |
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Joanna Marsh / December 15
Two environmental groups are suing western U.S. Class I railroad BNSF because its trains allegedly kill grizzly bears on federally protected grounds in Idaho and Montana, violating the Endangered Species Act. Santa Fe, New Mexico-headquartered WildEarth Guardians and Hailey, Idaho-based Western Watershed Project said Thursday that BNSF should change operating schedules or train speeds to prevent deaths of grizzlies along 206 miles of rail in the Northern Continental Divide Ecosystem (NCDE), located in and near the Northern Continental Divide and the Cabinet-Yaak regions.
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Editor's Note: For decades, expanded rail service in Wisconsin has been on the agenda. It is possible that this time - with new and expanded rail service under consideration for most parts of the Badger State, not just Milwaukee/Madison - we might just succeed. | |
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Wisconsin Wins Grants To Study Five New or Expanded Rail Routes
Jeramey Jannene / Dec 6th
Wisconsin could see a major expansion of passenger rail service under grant awards announced Wednesday by Senator Tammy Baldwin. The state will receive $2.5 million to study initiating new service in Madison, Green Bay and Eau Claire that would connect with Milwaukee, Chicago and the Twin Cities. The state will also receive grants to support studying expanding service between Milwaukee and Chicago on the existing Amtrak Hiawatha Service line and adding a third daily round trip between Chicago, Milwaukee and the Twin Cities.
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Editor's Note: This just might catch on in other states. Once we are equipped with hard and fast data about the objective hazards and inconveniences of blocked crossings, we might be able to put and end to this irresponsible practice. Just one more tool in the tool box to fight back against the scourge of long and heavy trains. | |
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Progressive Railroading / Dec 18th
The Ohio Rail Development Commission (ORDC) has released a free, publicly accessible tool to measure the impact of blocked grade crossings in Ohio. The Rail Crossing Community Impact Index (RCCII) is an interactive tool designed to enable users to locate crossings within their community. It creates weighted scores for motorized, nonmotorized and truck-specific traffic. RCCII scores can help identify areas with the most significant impact and help prioritize locations during the project selection process. In addition, the tool provides important information to support rail improvement program development, such as discretionary grant funding applications.
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Editor's Note: This is all great news. We need these improvements for both freight and passenger service. The freight railroads stand to benefit enormously from these infrastructural improvements, courtesy of Uncle Sam and U.S. taxpayers. But the Class Ones will then turn around and cry the blues every time the feds demand the private railroads run passenger trains on time, allow for increased frequencies, or agree to new routes. What a bunch of hypocrites. | |
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Julie Sneider / Dec 19th
On Dec. 8, the Federal Railroad Administration awarded $8.2 billion in grants for 10 passenger-rail projects across the country, and announced corridor planning activities that will impact every region nationwide. While the Fed-State National grants center on funding projects that will create greater access to intercity passenger rail, freight railroads are involved in many of the federal-state and corridor ID initiatives.
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Editor's Note: Yes, we have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to greatly expand and re-create a modern passenger train network in the US. The obstacles are many: The Class One railroads, slow-moving bureaucracy, conservative politicians, NIMBYs, and more. But if this movement comes to fruition, there is no turning back once the American people experience the ease and the joy of rail travel. For every disgruntled railroader out there slaving in private freight rail service, there will soon be a refuge for you in passenger service! | |
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Julie Sneider / Dec 2023
It’s not lost on Amtrak President Roger Harris that the American public’s interest in the expansion of passenger-rail service is at a high point in many cities and regions across the United States. Which is why he and the rest of the railroad’s executive team are determined to make the most of what they believe is a unique point in time for building on an unprecedented federal investment in Amtrak’s operations, fleet, infrastructure and geographic reach.
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Editor's Note: Mark is a longtime Canadian Pacific engineer based out of Calgary, Alberta where he has worked many years through the Canadian Rockies, site of numerous runaway train wrecks including the fatal disaster that killed three crew members nearly five years ago. An RWU member, Mark will embark upon a continent-wide tour this winter/spring to tell the story of CP recklessness and irresponsibility. | |
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"In this special we cover the myriad dangers presented by rail, play an interview from November 2nd, 2023 which we did with a Canadian Pacific whistleblower Mark Bretherton about the BC Field Hill wreck, and talk about the prospects for public ownership of railways both in North America and the United Kingdom."
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Editor's Note: The rail industry wants to put the past few years behind itself. Riddled by derailments, labor strife, shipper service complaints, fights with Amtrak, Congress and regulatory agencies, the Class Ones hope to return to the shadows out of public view. Our job as rail workers is to keep blowing the whistle on the carriers, to keep up the pressure, and thereby make the railroads the safe, efficient, and modern transportation wave of the future we all know it has the capability of being! | |
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Joanna Marsh / December 21
The February derailment of a Norfolk Southern train in East Palestine, Ohio, brought an unanticipated and sometimes harsh spotlight on rail safety, with congressional lawmakers and other public officials scrutinizing the industry’s safety record and calling for reforms to bolster safety standards. Here are some of the key events and happenings in the freight rail industry in 2023:
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Editor's Note: The Real News host Max Alvarez hosts a marathon livestream to raise money for the people of East Palestine. Join Max and his guests, including RWU Steering Committee member Matt Weaver at 1h:35m into the event. | |
Editor's Note: Hazardous material shipments are part of life, as they are essential components of modern industrial society. And rail is the safest, most efficient, best means of moving them to where they are needed in the production process. BUT the locomotives, rail cars, track and other basic infrastructure must be properly maintained, If the Class One carriers cannot commit to this basic concept, the the rail industry must be taken into public hands and be run by the workers and citizens who have the most to lose by these unsafe operations. | |
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FracTracker Alliance / Matt Kelso / Dec 14
Vast quantities of hazardous materials are being moved near people’s homes, in an industry where derailments, collisions, and other incidents are all too regular of an occurrence. According to our report, there were 742 such incidents in the tri-state region of Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia between January 1, 2020, and May 31, 2023, an average of almost 0.6 incidents per day, or a bit more than four per week.
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Editor's Note: It is all just a question of semantics, but for the historical record, a "populist" was a politician who championed the common workers and farmers and railed against the rich and powerful, urging a redistribution of wealth and power from the upper echelons to the lower. People like William Jennings Bryan, hero of farmers, and Eugene V Debs, champion of the railroad workers. The video clip describes the revolt of rail workers and farmers against the railroad Robber Barons of the day. Who would stand up for rail workers today? Biden certainly did not. Neither did Trump. Bernie did. Who's the "Populist" here? | |
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Steve Babson / Dec 8th
The Forgotten Populists of American history were forward-looking progressives opposed to the corporate Robber Barons of their day. They would have rejected the likes of Donald Trump— an arrogant billionaire and enemy of democracy. For today’s working people, the history of our Forgotten Populists and their profound impact on America is an inspiring story, one the media too often misrepresents. This video previews that history, as told in the illustrated paperback by Steve Babson: "Forgotten Populists: When Farmers Turned Left to Save Democracy."
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Editor's Note: Transportation workers continue to strike and fight back, from the docks to the skies, the highways to rail. | |
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Eric Kulisch / Friday, December 15, 2023
DHL Express workers represented by the Teamsters union have walked off the job at several U.S. locations in solidarity with ramp workers who went on strike a week ago at the company’s giant airhub at Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport (CVG). Members of Local 100 in Boston, Detroit, Miami, Los Angeles and San Francisco have refused to cross picket lines established by CVG workers at those locations, according to social media posts and a news release on Thursday. Exactly how many workers are off the job could not be determined.
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NEWS FROM AROUND THE LABOR MOVEMENT | |
Editor's Note: Working people are on the move - picketing, striking and fighting back for better contracts - Teamsters, auto workers, railroad workers and others. Watch this short video of how to win from Teamsters for a Democratic Union. Are you a member of the BLET or BMWED? If so, please consider joining TDU! | |
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Tens of thousands of UPS Teamsters mounting Practice Pickets. Sysco Teamsters coordinating across locals to win better contracts. New leadership in the UAW and a historic Stand Up Strike. Worker fightback in 2023 has been a highlight in a tough year. None of it would be possible without generous support from our donors and friends like you. Watch our new video with TDU members reflecting on our role in labor's movement moment. Then donate to help us prepare for the fights ahead.
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Editor's Note: RWU encourages every railroad worker to support these fellow workers in their struggles over the course of this coming year. The workers we support will then be there to help us once our contract fight starts later this coming year! Solidarity is a two-way street! | |
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Dan DiMaggio / December 18
Major contract fights in 2023 at UPS, the Big 3 automakers, and Hollywood studios set the tone for next year’s contract campaigns. Impressive gains and increased transparency got members of other unions asking, “Why can’t my union be like that?” The bar will be high. Many of the contracts expiring next year date from before the pandemic, and before inflation started taking a bite out of paychecks. Some unions took concessions, like creating lower wage and benefit tiers, that members are ready to fight to undo this time around.
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Editor's Note: First Sweden and hopefully soon in the US and elsewhere, unionization is coming to a Tesla plant near you! | |
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Les Leopold / December 20
| One hundred twenty Tesla mechanics in seven service centers are demanding a collective agreement with the company, one that aligns with all other labor-management agreements in this heavily unionized country. Approximately 90% of the Swedish workforce falls under such agreements. Musk isn’t having any of it. How dare a union tell him what he can and cannot do with his workers! For the first time in his life, however, he may be learning a lesson in labor solidarity. The 120 peasant-mechanics are not alone. | |
Editor's Note: Despite the fact that the nation's stock holders and CEOs continued to amass wealth at record levels, finally working people managed - through sacrifice and struggle - to siphon off a small portion. Perhaps 2024 will see even more working class struggle, strike, organizing, and wealth redistribution! | |
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Sarah Anderson / Dec 20th
Looking for something positive to celebrate on New Year’s Eve? Consider lifting a glass to the hardworking people behind these inspiring victories of 2023.
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Weekly Derailment Department | | | | |
