Weekly Digest Number 13 - March 30, 2021 |
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LOCAL 934 MOURNS AS MEMBER DIES IN ACCIDENT INVOLVING CREW TRANSPORT VEHICLE |
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SMART Transportation Division Local 934 member Curtis A. Deines, 52, a member of our union for more than 20 years, died before dawn on the morning of March 19 after the SUV he was being transported in was involved in a head-on collision with another vehicle on U.S. Highway 2 near Ravenna, Neb.
The driver and three other rail workers in the SUV that Deines was riding in were transported for treatment, as was the driver of the other vehicle involved in the accident, according to the Star-Herald of Scottsbluff, Neb. Deines passed away at the scene of the accident, the Buffalo County Sheriff’s Department stated in an accident report.
“He will be greatly missed here in Alliance,” said Local Chairperson Wendie Henderson of the Nebraska local.
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Court: Amtrak, not engineer, liable for deadly 2017 derailment near DuPont |
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A Pierce County Superior Court judge has ruled that Amtrak is strictly liable for the claim of its engineer who sued for his injuries after a deadly 2017 derailment near DuPont.
“The judge will instruct the jury that the court has already ruled that Amtrak is 100 percent at fault, what we call strict liability here,” Fred Bremseth, one of the engineer’s attorneys, told The News Tribune earlier this month.
The ruling means the trial scheduled later this year will be to determine damages, Bremseth said, without “the back and forth of the blame game.”
Engineer Steven Brown’s lawsuit, filed last year in Pierce County Superior Court, alleged he wasn’t properly trained and that technology that could have stopped the train hadn’t been installed at the time. Brown “suffered physical and emotional injuries as a result of the derailment,” according to his lawsuit.
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Editor's Note: The proposed merger of the CP and KCS railroads is the biggest news in the industry. Quite a few special interests are currently expressing opinions and concerns on how it will affect them. In order to make it less complicated to report, we are placing the different articles under this one lead article. |
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Surface Transportation Board chair weighs in on proposed mergers |
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Surface Transportation Board (STB) Chairman Martin J. “Marty” Oberman provided glimpses Tuesday into how the agency will consider two proposed acquisitions: CSX’s (NASDAQ: CSX) plan to purchase New England short line Pan Am Railways and Canadian Pacific’s (NYSE: CP) goal of merging with Kansas City Southern (NYSE: KSU).
The board expects to treat the proposed CP-Kansas City Southern (KCS) merger as a “major” transaction. This acquisition would be “the first major transaction to seek board approval in more than two decades,” Oberman said.
CP and KCS had expressed plans on Sunday to apply for their merger under KCS’ exemption from a rule regulators adopted in 2001 placing a heavier burden on railroads to show their mergers would not decrease options for rail service. Mergers in the 1980s and 1990s resulted in a dramatic reduction in the number of major railroads. According to KCS, a number of mergers were happening around KCS’ network at the time, and the exemption was meant to protect KCS’ network.
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Class I railroads outline 2021 projections, February weather impacts |
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All of the publicly traded Class I railroads presented at investment bank JP Morgan’s industrial conference last week. Here are some themes expressed through the multiday event:
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EDITOR'S NOTE: We continue to see these types of "Opinion/Commentary" articles, nationwide, which parrot carrier press releases regarding two-person train crews. What are the unions doing to battle this?
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Should Freight Train Crew Sizes Be Regulated? |
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During the past decade, federal and state policymakers have pursued minimum crew-size rules for railroads operating in their jurisdictions. Despite the appeals to safety made by proponents of these regulations, the available evidence does not support these claims.
In addition, imposing crew-size minimums on economic grounds is likely to backfire by reducing the competitiveness and long-term viability of rail in the broader transportation sector.
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VIDEO:
WHY DO WE NEED RAILROAD UNIONS?
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Being a Unionized railroader has distinct advantages. This video provides some basic information about how railroad Unions function and what they do for you. This video also highlights the importance of having a contract and the role the Union has in enforcing it.
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Teamsters' Canada Rail Support Needed |
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Some of the families whose loved ones died while working for CN Railway and CP Railway are fighting to reform the corporate policing system.
There are live Parliamentary Petitions on TSB and National Inquiry Into Private Railway Police. The Teamsters Canada Rail Conference support both petitions.
The goal is to far exceed the minimum number of signatures to send a message to the Government and the other opposition parties that change is belated, popular, and inevitable.
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Sen. Blumenthal, Rep. Davis introduce legislation permanently funding Amtrak |
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U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and U.S. Rep. Danny Davis (D-IL) introduced legislation in both houses of Congress Tuesday to provide for permanent federal funding for Amtrak.
The bill, the Intercity Passenger Rail Trust Fund Act, would create dedicated funding streams to help Amtrak invest in major improvement projects, increase passenger rail efficiency, and provide safer, more reliable service.
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Transportation board kills plan for trains to return to Colorado’s dormant Tennessee Pass |
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The Surface Transportation Board on Thursday rejected a plan by a rail operator to revive train traffic on Colorado’s mountainous Tennessee Pass Line.
Colorado Midland & Pacific Railway Company — a new division of Texas-based Rio Grande Pacific Corp. — asked the transportation board on Dec. 31, 2020 for streamlined approval of its plan to run trains on the long-dormant rail line between Gypsum and Cañon City. The railway operator asked for a class exemption from rigorous review because its proposal was “limited in scope.” The transportation board allows expedited class exemptions to new carriers like Colorado Midland & Pacific so they might acquire and operate railways to continue service for communities along the line.
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As Coal Market Shrinks, CSX Pledges Transparency on Climate Lobbying |
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The U.S. railroad industry has spent many years building up its image as a sustainability leader. However, the veneer of “green” hides an aggressive history of lobbying against climate action. Now the wall of denial appears to have grown a massive crack. The leading rail company CSX has just agreed to disclose its lobbying activities as an important step towards a more consistent and meaningful sustainability policy. |
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Idaho's first intermodal rail terminal to be built in Pocatello |
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A Salt Lake City-based transportation and logistics company has announced plans to build the state’s first intermodal rail terminal in Pocatello, thereby making it quicker and cheaper to export a variety of agricultural commodities.
Savage — a global supply chain company with 4,500 workers based in more than 200 locations — plans to start construction immediately on the facility, to be called Savage Railport-Southern Idaho, according to a press release. It should be operational by the middle of this year.
Savage has reached an agreement with Union Pacific Railroad to build and operate the terminal within the Pocatello rail yard.
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Notice from Labor Member of the RRB: Update on American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA) |
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As you may have heard, Congress recently enacted legislation to provide some financial relief to railroaders. In the legislation entitled the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA), Congress essentially extended the benefits originally created by the CARES Act. This legislation provides for the following benefits:
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