Below is a series of article compiled over the previous week.
They are of interest to railroad workers
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2019-1 Article 1
23-car derailment shuts down Union Pacific line, prompts controlled burn of hazardous chemical
The Union Pacific line that runs through Eastern Washington has been shut down since Friday by a 23-car derailment near Ritzville, Adams County, that included a hazardous cargo spill of sodium chlorate and subsequent fire that flared over the weekend.
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2019-1 Article 2
NBC Produced a Short Documentary about the Sunrise Movement and the Green New Deal
NBC has released this short documentary on Sunrise and it’s clear Americans are waking up to the need for ambitious climate action like the Green New Deal which RWU supports.
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2019-1 Article 3
Trump: Decertify Your Railroad Union
Railroad and Airline Unions: This new proposed rule would end a 93 year old law that has protected you
In Trump’s continuing war on labor unions, his administration is looking into making it easier for some employees to decertify their union. Decertification is the process that employees go through to kick their union out as the bargaining agent for the workplace.
The National Mediation Board (NMB), which is stacked with Trump appointees, is looking to create a new rule that would make it easier for employees that are covered under the Railway Labor Act of 1926 (RLA) to destroy their union. Currently, all employees covered under the act, which includes railroad employees as well as people who work in the airline industry, are free bargaining. This means that even if they live in a Right to Work state, the union is still allowed to collect agency fees. The giveback for workers is that it is harder for them to strike. For 93 years this law has kept relative labor peace within the nation’s transportation workforce. It has led to strong unions that have provided good paying jobs to millions of Americans.
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2019-1 Article 4
Albany Activists Keeping Spotlight On Oil Trains Six Years After Lac-Mégantic Disaster
Bruce Campbell, author of "
The Lac-Mégantic Rail Disaster: Public Betrayal, Justice Denied
," spoke Wednesday in Albany at an event sponsored by Save the Pine Bush. "It was important for me to tell the entire story, because memories can fade. And people forget what happened and why it happened and who was responsible. And so I've encapsulated that in a book, and I don't want it to happen anywhere else. If I can tell that story and it will lead to actions which prevent history from repeating itself, then I think I will have done what I intended to do," said Campbell, who is personally acquainted with many of the Lac-Mégantic residents and blames the tragedy on regulatory failure, negligence and corporate criminality.
"No one has been held accountable. There were three frontline workers that were tried and were acquitted. None of the people that were responsible has been held accountable. So that's where the subtitled 'Justice Denied,' there's so many unanswered questions and there is a need for justice. There's been no public inquiry."
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2019-1 Article 5
Large U.S. rail unions announce national two-person crew legislation
WASHINGTON, D.C., March 22, 2019 — Two large railroad unions in the United States have pledged their joint support for the Safe Freight Act legislation introduced by U.S. Rep. Don Young (R-Alaska).
The Safe Freight Act (H.R.1748) requires that two certified crew members operate freight trains on U.S. rails and has the backing of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET) and the International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers — Transportation Division (SMART TD).
“This is necessary safety legislation to protect railroad workers and the American public,” BLET National President Dennis R. Pierce said. “While the railroad industry talks of one-person train crews and even autonomous trains, the 2013 tragedy of Lac-Megantic is justification enough that we need two sets of eyes and ears in the locomotive cab.”
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2019-1 Article 6
Amtrak Host Railroad Report Card 2018 Who delays passengers?
The Host Railroad Report Card grades each of the six Class I freight host railroads based on delays caused to Amtrak trains over the last 12 months.
1 Canadian Pacific - A
2 BNSF - B
3 Union Pacific - B
4 CSX - B
5 Canadian National - D
6 Norfolk Southern - F
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2019-1 Article 7
Employees Sue CSX over FMLA Denials, Firings
Twenty CSX employees who were fired or suspended for their use of federally-protected medical leave filed suit Tuesday in Maryland. The suit claims more than 100 are "similarly situated."
The suit comes on the heels of a suit that
46 fired employees
filed in West Virginia in February, which also alleged CSX disciplined employees for fraud and dishonesty without evidence.
“While CSX employees understand that working on weekends and holidays comes with the territory, they did not anticipate having to work through serious illnesses, miss their children’s births, or choose between caring for their sick loved ones and losing their jobs,” reads the newly filed suit.
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2019-1 Article 8
VIDEO: Amtrak Delays and Freight Train Interference
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