Rail & Labor News from RWU
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Weekly Digest Number 27 - July 4th, 2023 | |
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. 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!
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(Editor's Note: Too many young rail workers and new trainees are getting killed on the job lately. Another one that should have never happened.) | |
June 27, 2023
BALTIMORE — The National Transportation Safety Board has opened an investigation after a CSX Transportation employee was killed after being struck by a train Monday evening at the Seagirt Marine Terminal at the Port of Baltimore.
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(Editor's Note: Great to see G&W being picketed in this spirted action. There has been an uptick in the number of protests against rail companies in the last few years. Let's keep the momentum going!) | |
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June 28th, 2023
Genesee & Wyoming Railroad Engineering Services are scoundrels. The firing of 31 employees is a despicable action – cold-hearted, vile and strategically stupid. They’ll come up with some flimsy excuse in court, but everyone will see right through it. Last week was the first step in restoring these new BMWED members back to work. It won’t be the last. Join us in this just and forthright battle. Support our Brothers on G&W RES. Together we can prevail.
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(Editor's Note: This of course comes as no surprise for practically every single worker in the rail industry today. But RWU - and the rail unions - must work hard to get this message out to the American people.) | |
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Four months after the Norfolk Southern East Palestine train derailment, workers and citizens fight against the toxicity of an industry that has cut corners at every turn
by Brenton Zola June 13th, 2023
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(Editor's Note: A few rail carloads of hazardous materials derailing into a river can cause a mass calamity for people who depend on that river for drinking water, irrigation, etc. The plan to run a half dozen crude oil trains every day along the Colorado River for hundreds of miles is just plain a really bad idea!) | |
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The Stillwater County, Montana sheriff's office said it was a "great stroke of luck" that none of the train cars were carrying oil that would have polluted the Yellowstone River.
Julia Conley June 25th, 2023
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(Editor's Note: The "common carrier" obligation is complex. In effect, the agreement says that in turn for receiving millions of acres of land from the U.S. government to build the railroads, the companies in turn must serve freight and passenger customers. Well, today's rail carriers seem to beg to differ, and serve their Wall Street masters and to hell with everyone else. All done of course in the name of "free enterprise.") | |
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June 29, 2023
Sens. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) and Roger Marshall (R-Kan.) on Wednesday introduced the Reliable Rail Service Act, which seeks to clarify the definition of railroads’ common carrier obligation and establish specific criteria for the Surface Transportation Board to consider when determining if a railroad has violated that obligation.
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Mapping of Corridor ID Program submissions and the Federal Railroad Administration Daily Long Distance Study
Noah Kahan
Amtrak was founded in 1971. But beginning in the late 1970s, many of the routes were discontinued and have never returned. But with the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL), passenger rail is poised to have the greatest expansion in a generation.
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(Editor's Note: Again, there is an opportunity here to expand passenger rail - and the rail industry as a whole - in the U.S. like we have not seen in decades. Rail unions must come together with passenger advocacy groups like RPA, environmental groups like Sierra Club, transportation justice groups and communities large and small to boost this effort. The Class One freight carriers and their friends in Congress will do what they can to block this effort. We need a powerful coalition to see this through to fruition.) | |
Building on the historic opportunity for passenger rail through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021, RPA embarked on a strategic planning process to continue its policy successes while building a strong foundation for future sustainability. Through this process, RPA has defined five priorities for 2023–2025.
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(Editor's Note: It is encouraging to see the vigor with which the new IBT leadership is pursing contract negotiations at UPS. Hopefully the rail union officials are paying attention here, as contract talks with the big national Class One freight carriers will commence next Fall. The rail union chiefs have a lot of cards to play to pressure the carriers to negotiate a good contract. The alternative is another long drawn out demoralizing national bargaining round. The time to start preparations is NOW!) | |
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“When we say the current contract expires July 31, that means we want a new contract in place starting August 1. Not in six months. Not next spring. We demand a historic new contract August 1, with more money in our members’ pockets immediately,” O’Brien said in the statement. “UPS has wasted enough time and hoarded these record profits. Our members want what they have earned.”
Mark Solomon Tuesday, June 27, 2023
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(Editor's Note: While this contract might be an improvement for many engineers when it comes to predictable work schedules, it could mean more hours worked for some along with job cuts. We will monitor the situation closely.) | |
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June 30th, 2023
Ninety percent of Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET) divisions representing locomotive engineers on Union Pacific Railroad have ratified a "momentous" agreement designed to enhance their quality of life through more predictable work schedules. The agreement provides locomotive engineers in unassigned service scheduled rest days and predictable work schedules — being available for 11 days followed by four days off ...
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(Editor's Note: Without knowing the details, this really could be a game changer for the rail industry's workforce if it catches on. For years, many airline workers and others have had the ability to trade shifts, allowing the necessary coverage to get the job done, allowing those wishing to work more to do so, while allowing those needing the time off to likewise benefit. Hopefully this can expand systemwide, then across all carriers, and all crafts. Why not? True win-win and should have been implemented decades ago. One more positive development to come out of the national contract fight last Fall?) | |
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June 28, 2023
IAM District 19 General Chairman Heath Jacobs has negotiated a first-of-its-kind shift swap agreement at the Canadian National Railway Company (CN). The temporary memorandum aims to give IAM members more opportunity to have time off work without being charged for absenteeism.
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(Editor's Note: Brother Cox' powerful testimony lays bare the recklessness of the rail industry and its responsibility for the East Palestine wreck. The question now of course is will the feds - or states - mandate minimal staffing levels and rail car inspection times or will they allow the rail industry to continue to self-regulate?) | |
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Josh Funk June 23rd, 2023
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Freight railcar inspections are happening less often and are not as thorough as in years past due to staff cuts, time constraints and regulatory loopholes, a union official testified Friday during a federal hearing to examine the reasons behind a fiery train derailment in Ohio.
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(Editor's Note: History repeats. Many of the laws which govern rail operations today came about a century or more ago, spurred into federal law by a patchwork of states enacting their own laws in the face of the feds' inability and/or unwillingness to reign in the rail corporations.) | |
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BY MARC LEVY AND JOSH FUNK June 26, 2023
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Spurred on by train derailments, some states with busy criss-crossing freight railroads are pursuing their own safety remedies rather than wait for federal action amid industry opposition and questions about whether they even have authority to make the changes.
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(Editor's Note: The union is adamant in its demands and the private rail contractor companies refuse to budge. This will fuel the movement for taking the UK railroads back into public control.) | |
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Published on 26-06-2023 at 09:38
The National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers, better known throughout Britain as the RMT, has marked the first anniversary of action in their dispute with the rail industry by calling a series of new strike dates. Last week, 21 June, was exactly a year since talks failed to resolve the acrimonious dispute over pay, conditions and job security. Far from celebration, the RMT has announced that 20,000 of its members would walk out for three days in July, bringing most of the British network to a standstill.
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(Editor's Note: This is an interesting case, where a railroad is being remanded to haul more of a customer's product than the carrier would like to. Go figure ...) | |
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Written by Marybeth Luczak, Executive Editor June 23rd, 2023
The Surface Transportation Board (STB) on June 23 issued a preliminary injunction requiring BNSF this year to transport 4.2 million tons of coal from Navajo Transitional Energy Company, LLC’s (NTEC) Spring Creek Mine in Big Horn County, Mont., to the Westshore Terminals export facility in British Columbia, Canada. The mine is solely served by BNSF.
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(Editor's Note: Regional commuter rail services are adjusting to a new environment. What Metra is doing could be the wave of the future, providing citizens with new public transportation options and lots more trains.) | |
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Jul 14, 2023 10:00 AM in Pacific Time
Speaker: David Kralik, AICP, Director of Planning and Programming, Metra.
Please join us for a webinar with Metra to learn about how they are moving towards a regional rail service model. This is an important strategic shift that was outlined in Metra’s latest Strategic Plan, “My Metra, Our Future.” At its core, the shift to regional rail means offering more frequent service throughout the day, which can meet the demand for trip types beyond just commuting. It’s a bold new vision for Metra and we are excited to learn more about their goals.
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Weekly Derailment Department | | | | |
