Rail & Labor News from RWU
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Weekly Digest Number 18 - April 30, 2024 | |
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. Got a hot tip? Please forward the article and a link to raillabornews@gmail.com. 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! | |
Editor's Note: This really does take the cake. You know it's bad when the rail unions decide to divide up over the question of who is to lord over them! The carriers' divide-and-conquer reaches new heights. Rather than unite with each other, different unions' officials have decided to make alliance with this or that group of investors and managers. Disgraceful. Undignified. Embarrassing. Divisive. Sellouts. Suck ups. Crumb Scroungers. Boot lickers. Labor fakirs. To its discredit the BLET started this nonsense when it came out in favor of Shaw and company two months ago. Now ironically they have switched sides in the space of 8 weeks and support the same gang that they were so vociferously opposed to eight weeks earlier. If and when Ancora takes the reins at NS, look for both the BLET and the BMWED to once again shift gears and condemn Ancora when they see the absolute horror that Ancora is going to rain down upon them. The fractured and divided, archaic and outdated craft unions of rail labor are proving their utter worthlessness to working railroaders. Is it finally time for a single, united and powerful, union of all rail workers?! | |
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Bill Stephens / April 28
BLET general chairmen agreed to back Ancora Holdings the day they signed a deal providing several concessions, including winning remote-control switching operations now handled by conductors. Industry observers had wondered why the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen — which had vehemently opposed an activist investor’s plans to oust Norfolk Southern’s management team — flip-flopped on Friday and decided to support Ancora Holdings’ calls for change at the railroad. The reason became apparent on Sunday, when the SMART-TD union that represents conductors released a memorandum of understanding that Ancora and BLET leaders signed last week.
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Editor's Note: Thankfully, this wreck did not take place in the center of a populated area. | |
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Thirty-five rail cars of a train derailed in New Mexico Friday afternoon, prompting evacuations that lasted until Sunday and forcing a 50-mile stretch of Interstate 40 to close. Six of the derailed train cars were carrying propane, according to BNSF Railway. Evacuation orders were issued for residents within a two-mile radius of the derailment and fire along the New Mexico state line with Arizona, according to an update from BNSF Railway. All evacuations were lifted Sunday, according to a Facebook post from McKinley County Fire & Rescue. Air monitoring at the site was ongoing Sunday and results do “not indicate any concern for air quality,” the agency said. Interstate 40 – which was closed in both directions with traffic rerouted – was reopened Sunday.
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Editor's Note: That's right folks, the gang that most rail unions support in the rich man's fight for control of the NS - including the BLET until a few days ago - are the same Board of Directors that gave us PSR, massive cuts to staffing, maintenance and inspections, East Palestine, super long trains, and all the rest. Why would any union support these enemies of working railroaders? | |
Carrie Cochran, Mark Greenblatt / April 11
When Norfolk Southern’s derailed train spewed toxic chemicals into East Palestine, Ohio, Scripps News was the first news organization to uncover how company executives received millions in cash for actions that compromised safety, including making its trains longer and heavier. Weighing 18,000 tons, the derailed train was nearly two miles long. Industry insiders, Congressional members, and former Federal Railroad Administration leaders expressed shock at what Scripps News uncovered.
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Video: When Hell Came to East Palestine | |
Editor's Note: We may never know the damage - or the risks - that AI type systems like "Leader" and "Trip Optimizer" are causing. A full study needs to be undertaken to determine the efficiencies and the safety of these technologies. | |
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A Wyoming railroad engineer is suing Union Pacific, claiming he was hurt — maybe permanently — when an artificial intelligence-powered train driver malfunctioned causing a train wreck. Union Pacific had installed on the locomotives a computer software system known as “LEADER,” which was to control the locomotives without input from the engineer and learn through artificial intelligence how to control the trains’ movements over various tracks, terrains and territories, the complaint says. The computer system gave the locomotives dangerous instructions, telling the lead locomotive to slow down and the middle locomotive to speed up, which made the middle locomotive rear-end the front cars, throwing Kirol around the lead locomotive’s cab, injuring his lower back and other parts of his body, the complaint alleges.
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Editor's Note: This is a big step forward for a the state, one that ultimately result in numerous trains throughout Colorado. Lightly used or abandoned mainlines link most of Colorado's population centers, lines that could host passenger trains to connect numerous towns, assist economic development, promote tourism, get cars off the highways, and create hundreds of good union rail jobs. | |
David Lester / April 24
The Denver House Transportation, Housing & Local Government Committee this week passed legislation aimed at leveraging millions in federal infrastructure funding to bring passenger rail service to Colorado and expanding public transportation options across the state. The bill would encourage RTD, Front Range Passenger Rail, and the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) to coordinate efforts to secure the funding needed to establish passenger rail service from Denver to Fort Collins, while exploring near-term opportunities to fund regional transit and rail projects along the Front Range, through Southern Colorado and up to the mountains.
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Editor's Note: No surprise here. The American Association of Railroads (AAR) is wasting no time in its effort to overturn the new two-person crew regulation. As flawed as the new regulation is, ridden with loopholes, the rail industry simply cannot tolerate any infringement upon its unfettered God-given right to run trains the way it sees fit. | |
Progressive Railroading / April 26
U.S. Rep. Eric Burlison (R-Mo.) has introduced a Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolution of disapproval in an effort to nullify the Federal Railroad Administration's rule that mandates a minimum of two-person train crews. Earlier this month, the FRA announced it adopted the final rule, which the freight-rail industry has long opposed. "The imposition of a two-person crew requirement disproportionately harms small businesses, jeopardizing their viability in a highly competitive industry," said Burlison. "We should reject this burdensome regulation and instead prioritize allowing the rail industry, which understands its operations best, to thrive without government intervention."
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U.S. Rep. Donald M. Payne Jr. of New Jersey, who served as Senior Democrat on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee’s Rail Subcommittee, died April 24. He was 65. Amtrak CEO Stephen Gardner said in a statement. “His leadership, including in his position as Ranking Member of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee’s Rail Subcommittee, was essential to helping Amtrak secure the investments needed to improve our infrastructure, stations, trains and service.
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Editor's Note: This is an alarming video from the cab of a BNSF locomotive on a stopped train in Nebraska. As climate change deepens, we are witnessing more and more its effects upon everyday life - including work on the railroad. | |
Twitter Video / April 26
Ever wondered what it’s like being on a train when a tornado hits? Engineer and conductor are alright. Video belongs to Eric Carlisle.
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United Steelworkers union / April 25
"The United Steelworkers union (USW) announces with heavy hearts the tragic passing of 36-year old Juver Balmores, two days ago on April 23. Balmores, a dedicated worker at CN Rail and member of USW Local 2004, was involved in a fatal head-on collision near Clearwater, B.C., leaving behind a loving wife and three young children. Another USW member was hospitalized due to injuries, while one occupant in a semi-truck passed away and another sustained injuries. The health and safety of workers is the number one priority for the USW. The union’s Emergency Response Team (ERT) is working with USW Local 2004, CN Rail and local authorities as they investigate the circumstances surrounding this tragic incident."
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Editor's Note: One more reason that freight needs to be diverted off the the nation's highways and onto rail. Sadly, the Class One carriers are moving 24% less freight than they did in 2006, steadily moving us in the wrong direction. | |
John Gallagher / April 25
Deaths resulting from large-truck crashes where newly licensed drivers are involved continues to rise, according to recent government data, but a proposed safety requirement that could help reduce those deaths will likely be delayed again. The percentage of fatal large truck and bus crashes involving new-entrant carriers has climbed from 4.6% to 7.4% from 2017 to 2022, according to a snapshot of Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration data taken at the end of 2023. In 2022, those crashes resulted in 494 deaths and over $5.5 billion in costs.
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Editor's Note: Ultimately, what is needed is a nationwide rule that encompasses ALL trucks and ALL locomotives. | |
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Industry groups are calling on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to reject an authorization request from the California Air Resources Board (CARB) to implement a regulation that was finalized last year, banning any locomotive that is 23 years or older from operating in California starting in 2030 and requiring that new locomotives only operate in the state if they are “zero-emissions locomotives,” beginning in 2030 for switch, industrial, and passenger locomotives and 2035 for line haul locomotives.
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NEWS FROM AROUND THE LABOR MOVEMENT | |
Editor's Note: Sara Nelson is one of the most progressive forward thinking U.S. union leaders in the transportation sector. Like railroad workers, airline workers are subject to the Railway Labor Act. | |
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Sara Nelson has served as the International President of the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA, AFL-CIO, since 2014. The union represents over 50,000 of aviation’s first responders at 19 airlines. Nelson is a union leader with the courage to think big. As she accepted the 2019 AFL-CIO MLK Drum Major for Justice Award, she called for union members to talk with their union leadership about conducting a General Strike to end the Government Shutdown. That bold call had an impact. The shutdown ended shortly thereafter. Many credit Sara Nelson. Watch:
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Editor's Note: Internal union democracy is essential for the effective functioning of labor unions. This is why RWU supports a one-member-one-vote system of elections for all officer positions at all levels of the union. And democracy in the greater society - the right to form and join a union, the right to strike, etc - is just as important. | |
Eric Lee / April 24
Luc Triangle is the new general secretary of the global labour movement's peak body, the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC). We spoke with Luc about the ITUC's new "For Democracy" campaign, about the globally-recognised "right to strike" which is now before the International Court of Justice, and about the major challenges facing him as ITUC general secretary. We also interviewed Rebecca Owens, flight attendant at Alaska Airlines and an active member of AFA (Association of Flight Attendants)-CWA Council 30 in Anchorage, Alaska. She has stepped up as her union is in contract negotiations at Alaska Airlines by helping to organize informational pickets, volunteering to go on camera to share the stories of her union brothers, sisters and siblings and making sure her colleagues participated in their recent strike vote.
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Editor's Note: The Auto Workers union is on a roll! Just like in the 1930s, the union is poised to lead a re-birth and regeneration of the labor movement. Their organizing efforts deserve the support and solidarity of every railroad workers in North America! | |
Steven Greenhouse / April 23
After celebrating his union’s historic victory at a Volkswagen plant in Tennessee, Shawn Fain, president of the United Auto Workers, told the Guardian that he was confident of more unionization wins at auto plants across the US, saying: “The workers at VW are the first domino to fall. “They have shown it is possible,” Fain added in an interview on Sunday evening. “I expect more of the same to come. Workers are fed up.”
Videos Below - Payday Report interview with formerly anti-union Volkswagen worker explains why he switched to pro-union:
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Shawn Fain interview on historic UAW victory in Chattanooga: | |
Editor's Note: For those that are interested in the revitalization of the US Labor movement, this study will prove helpful. It appears that we are flush with cash, ready to invest in organizing, strike support, and otherwise rebuilding the movement. The UAW is a shining example of what can be done. Let's spend this money, put worker organizers in the field in our respective industries, and get the job done! Organize! | |
Chris Bohner / April 25
The 2023 membership and financial data for individual U.S. unions are now available from the Department of Labor’s (DOL) Office of Labor-Management Standards(OLMS). Which unions gained membership, and which unions lost membership? What are the long-term trends for each union since 2010? What is the relationship between membership growth (or decline) and the balance sheet of America’s largest unions? How much money do union headquarters have to invest in strikes and organizing? I’ll try to tell the story with a collection of charts and tables.
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Weekly Derailment Department | | | | |
