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Rail Workers Weekly News Digest
Number 41 - October 13, 2020
Below is a series of articles compiled over the previous week.
They are of interest to railroad workers and activists.

To view all previous issues of the RWU Weekly News Digest, see the Archives:
Train DERAILS in Hurricane Delta's torrential rain as homes destroyed by flooding
"People who called 911 reported that the train was on its side and two CSX employees were trying to escape the locomotive as it started to take on water, officials said.
The train’s conductor and engineer were taken to a local hospital with minor injuries, officials said.
Crews found what would later be confirmed as 38 railcars derailed, with several of them “engulfed in flames.”
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Amtrak warns an additional 2,400 jobs will be cut without more federal aid
In a letter sent to House and Senate leaders Thursday, Amtrak urged swift passage of legislation that would extend government support for the passenger railroad, warning that without additional funding by the end of the year it would need to cut more than 2,000 jobs, further reduce service and defer major capital projects.
In This Election, Your Safety Is On the Ballot *
Only one candidate for President supports two person crews that will preserve the safety of railroaders and local communities.
*Note: Railroad Workers United does not endorse political candidates
Workers’ health insurance premiums are rising much faster than wages
Workers’ health insurance premiums are rising much faster than wages
The Kaiser Family Foundation reports that annual family premiums increased by 4% this year, higher than the 3.4% year-to-year increase in average wages and nearly double the 2.1% rate of inflation. This follows an August report from the Commonwealth Fund that found deductibles rose faster than income since 2010, and deeming the current landscape an “affordability crisis.”

U.S. railroads set record intermodal month in September, carloads down 9.7%  
The Association of American Railroads (AAR) reports September U.S. rail traffic down 1% Y/Y to 2,543,429 carloads and intermodal units, comprising of carloads down 9.7% and containers and trailers volume up 7.1% during the month.

New measures for railyards leaves union with questions
 According to Teamsters Canada, the union representing rail workers these new measures aren’t enough.
"Nothing the government has announced this week is going to change anything for workers on the ground in Melville or railroaders anywhere else in Canada. The rail industry in Canada is a largely self regulated industry,” said Christopher Monette, Director of Public Affairs for Teamsters Canada.
Cargill urging regulators to seek last-mile metrics from railroads
Responding to pressure to be more transparent about their service performance following the major railroad mergers of the 1990s, the freight railroads began providing shippers and regulators weekly data on metrics such as rail car velocity and terminal dwell times.

But one measure that they haven’t been providing, asserts an executive at one of the country’s largest agribusiness companies, is how well they’ve been performing against the promise of Precision Scheduled Railroading (PSR), an operating methodology adopted by most of the railroads and one that can have a significant effect on first-mile and last-mile delivery for customers. “As far as a rail shipper is concerned, the game is won or lost in that first-mile, last-mile segment of the supply chain,”...
Federal Railroad Administration issues revised rule on track safety
The regulation governs the minimum safety requirements for railroad tracks. 
Governor's confusion about Texas high-speed rail illustrates project's complexity
However, the FRA does not issue construction permits. That power falls to the Surface Transportation Board, a government agency which oversees regulation of various modes of transportation, primarily freight rail.

The STB agreed to take jurisdiction of the project in July — a major win for Texas Central. However, the STB denied a waiver that would have exempted Texas Central from the application process.

Now, Texas Central must go through the STB application process in order to receive construction permits. Because this would be the first solely dedicated high-speed rail line in the U.S., it's unclear how long it will take the application process to play out. Texas Central is in uncharted waters.
US DOL Obtains Consent Order, Judgement to Restore $6.54 Million to Union Short Term Disability Fund
The U.S. Department of Labor has obtained a consent order and judgment requiring the International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers (SMART) Union and the current trustees of the SMART Group Voluntary Short Term Disability Plan (SMART VSTD Plan) to restore $6,545,454 to the Plan.

Coos Bay port to receive federal grant for rail infrastructure project 
The U.S. Department of Transportation last week notified the Oregon International Port of Coos Bay that it will receive a $10 million grant through the federal Port Infrastructure and Development Program for a project along the Coos Bay Rail Line.