RWU
News & Information Service
Rail Workers Weekly News Digest
Number 12 - June 11, 2019
Below is a series of article compiled over the previous week.
They are of interest to railroad workers
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2019-12  Article 1

PSR: For employees, pain, no gain


There have been numerous reports of how PSR operational changes have resulted in controlling costs and helped to optimize asset utilization. Operating ratios have reached record lows, and yard and siding tracks are filled with moth-balled locomotives and railcars of all types. These changes have clearly benefited railroad management and railroad shareholders. But, once again, based on government and media reporting, customer service has, in far too many cases, suffered.

What about operating safely, and valuing and developing employees?

Based on an informal survey I conducted on a railroad worker Facebook group, any hope that PSR would improve operational safety or their quality of life has been dashed by furloughs, monster-sized trains, increasing hours-of-service tie-ups, longer stays at away-from-home terminals and more workplace chaos Read more ...

2019-12 Article 2

Unions Reach Tentative Agreement at Locomotive Builder at Wabtec/GE


ERIE, Pa. — Just days after the current contract expired Wabtec had reached a tentative deal with its unionized employees at the Wabtec Freight plant in Erie.

The four year agreement is set to be voted on June 12 and contains the following agreements according to United Electrical, Machine and Radio Workers of America Local 506’s posting on its website.

Both the UE Locals 506 and 618, and Wabtec are optimistic that this proposal will keep locomotive production at the plant, and possibly expand it as there is space available to do so.  Read More ...

2019-12  Article 3

Lac-Mégantic tragedy: Ottawa rejects opposition call for public inquiry


OTTAWA — Federal Transport Minister Marc Garneau has closed the door on the idea of a public inquiry to shed light on the Lac-Mégantic rail tragedy.
Garneau accused the Bloc Québécois, the New Democratic Party and the Green Party, who are calling for an inquiry, of spreading conspiracy theories by suggesting there are still some elements to be uncovered.
“There is nothing left to discover,” Garneau said Tuesday.
The minister said the Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSBC) already undertook a comprehensive investigation and released a report after the derailment and explosion that destroyed downtown Lac-Mégantic in July 2013.
“I think the Méganticois want to move on now,” Garneau responded. “It has been six years, they want to look to the future. That’s why we’re setting up a bypass.”
At a press conference earlier in the day, Bloc MP Monique Pauzé said the TSB’s report was “softened” or “watered down” because there was pressure from industry.
Pauzé said she drew that conclusion after reading investigative books by Anne-Marie St-Cernay and Bruce Campbell. Read more ...


2019-12  Article 4

A public inquiry into the Lac Mégantic rail disaster is essential


Transport Minister Garneau dismissed the Lac-Mégantic rail safety citizens’ coalition, as conspiracy theorists for demanding an independent Commission of Inquiry into the 2013 oil train disaster.
On Parliament Hill—supported by Bloc Québecois, NDP, and Green Party MPs— coalition representatives unveiled a 3600-person petition endorsing their demand.

Garneau insisted that the 2014 Transportation Safety Board investigation report has fully determined causes of the disaster. He is mistaken. It left many unanswered questions about what happened, why it happened, and who was responsible.

Here are a few: Read more ...

2019-12  Article 5

U.S. rail traffic slump continued in May


Several factors contributed to the 4.1 percent decline in U.S. railroads' combined traffic volume last month compared with May 2018, the  Association of American Railroads  (AAR) reported yesterday.

U.S. carload traffic fell 2.1 percent to 1,291,671 units, while intermodal volume dropped 5.9 percent to 1,315,684 containers and trailers in May versus a year ago, according to AAR data. Combined, U.S.railroads logged 2,607,355 carloads and intermodal units, down 110,586 units. Read more ...

2019-12  Article 6

Illinois funds new Amtrak trains, transit upgrades,


Thank you to everyone in Illinois who contacted their legislators in recent weeks to show support for trains!

Together, we gained funding commitments for new Amtrak routes and an all-new dedicated fund for transit projects.

Perhaps the single biggest achievement is the doubling of the state’s gas tax. This effectively restores the power of the tax that had been lost to inflation since it was last adjusted nearly 30 years ago. (It’s worth noting that transit fares have roughly doubled over the same period.) And, the tax will now be indexed to rise with inflation every year. Read more ...

2019-12 Article 7

NTSB releases preliminary report on death of railroad employee in Chattanooga



A preliminary report has been released of the April 13 incident where a CSX employee was killed by a locomotive at a Chattanooga rail yard.

The report states NTSB investigators reviewed video images recorded by a stationary yard camera.

The investigators saw that the carman, who crossed the north lead at a 45-degree angle with his back towards the locomotive, was struck and killed.

This is a preliminary report, and an investigation is ongoing. Channel 3 will update this story as we receive more information. Read more ...

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