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brotherhood of locomotive engineers and trainmen
Norfolk Southern Conductor Death in Ohio Shows Need to Boost Rail Safety Rules: Union
"All railroad accidents are avoidable," said BLET's national president. "This collision underscores the need for significant improvements in rail safety for both workers and the public."
Mar 07, 2023
A Norfolk Southern conductor was killed in Ohio early Tuesday, elevating scrutiny of the rail giant and calls for dramatic improvements to industry safety regulations in the wake of a devastating derailment in the state last month.
Louis Shuster, president of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET) Division 607, was fatally injured when a dump truck collided with a train while he was on the outside of a railcar at the Cleveland-Cliffs Cleveland Works steel plant.
"Lou was a passionate and dedicated union brother," said Pat Redmond, local chairman of the BLET division. "He was always there for his coworkers. He was very active in helping veterans who worked on the railroad and veterans all across our community."
The 46-year-old Army veteran was a father to a 16-year-old son and a caregiver for his elderly parents, according to the union. A GoFundMe fundraiser has been set up to help the family with funeral expenses.
\u201cIn The Line of Duty: Louis P. Shuster, a proud member of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET), employed as a Norfolk Southern conductor, was struck and killed early Tuesday when a dump truck collided with a train car in Cleveland. https://t.co/fwwv6YtvCT\u201d— Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (@Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen) 1678224415
"Norfolk Southern has been in touch with the conductor's family and will do all it can to support them and his colleagues. We are grieving the loss of a colleague today. Our hearts go out to his loved ones during this extremely difficult time," the company said.
The rail company, which added that it is working with city police and Cleveland-Cliffs representatives to learn everything possible about the deadly collision, has faced national criticism since a train carrying hazardous materials derailed and caught fire in East Palestine, Ohio, near the Pennsylvania border, on February 3, creating an environmental and public health disaster.
Following another Norfolk Southern derailment in Ohio Saturday afternoon—over two dozen cars came off the tracks between Dayton and Columbus—the company on Monday announced "a six-point plan to immediately enhance the safety of its operations."
However, the company's plan falls short in terms of recent demands from the Biden administration, Congress, and other critics.
\u201c"As ranking member on the Senate Select Comm. on Rail Safety, I hope we will address some of these dangers and explore policy solutions that will make our railways safer," said @nickieantonio.\n\nThe Senate Select Committee on Rail Safety meets again tomorrow at the Statehouse. 3/3\u201d— Ohio Senate Dems (@Ohio Senate Dems) 1678206278
After Shuster was killed on Tuesday, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB)—which is already probing the East Palestine disaster—announced a "special investigation" of Norfolk Southern's "organization and safety culture."
"Given the number and significance of recent Norfolk Southern accidents, the NTSB also urges the company to take immediate action today to review and assess its safety practices, with the input of employees and others, and implement necessary changes to improve safety," the board said in a statement.
Earlier Tuesday, U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg had tweeted that the NTSB, Federal Railroad Administration, and Occupational Safety and Health Administration are investigating the collision in Cleveland.
"Our thoughts are with the family facing this preventable tragedy. Now more than ever, it is time for stronger freight railroad accountability and safety," added Buttigieg, who is also under fire for not going far enough to rein in rail safety risks.
\u201cEarly this morning a Norfolk Southern train running through Cleveland collided with a dump truck, and the conductor was killed.\n\nRailroad workers are pushing for a strong, comprehensive Rail Safety Act, and Congress must move to meet their needs.\u201d— More Perfect Union (@More Perfect Union) 1678201014
BLET national president Eddie Hall pointed to the conductor's death as more proof of the need for stricter rail safety rules.
"This was a tragic situation and it's a devastating loss for the Shuster family as well as the members of this union," he said. "All railroad accidents are avoidable. This collision underscores the need for significant improvements in rail safety for both workers and the public."
As Common Dreams reported last week, Hall welcomed parts of the bipartisan Railway Safety Act of 2023—introduced by Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) after the East Palestine derailment—while also warning that "you can run a freight train through the loopholes."
Railroad Workers United, an inter-union reform group, has advocated for the nationalization of the U.S. rail sector but, in the absence of such sweeping action, has also proposed immediate changes to prevent future "catastrophic" derailments.
This post has been updated with information about the fundraiser.
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Rail Workers Warn Safety Bill Loopholes Are Big Enough to 'Run a Freight Train Through'
"If the language is not precise, the Class 1 railroads will avoid the scope of the law without violating the law, yet again putting the safety of our members and American communities into harm's way," said one union leader.
Mar 03, 2023
Amid heightened national focus on railway safety in the wake of the East Palestine, Ohio disaster and other recent accidents, one railroad workers' union warned Friday that, while welcome, a bipartisan rail safety bill has "loopholes big enough to operate a 7,000-foot train through."
The Railway Safety Act of 2023—introduced earlier this week by Sens. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), J.D. Vance (R-Ohio), Bob Casey (D-Pa.), Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), John Fetterman (D-Pa.), and Josh Hawley (R-Mo.)—is meant to "prevent future train disasters like the derailment that devastated East Palestine."
The legislation would impose limits on freight train lengths—which in some cases currently exceed three miles. The measure was introduced a day after Democratic U.S. Reps. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) and Chris Deluzio (D-Pa.) put forth a bill that would require the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) to impose stricter regulations on trains carrying hazardous materials.
"We welcome greater federal oversight and a crackdown on railroads that seem all too willing to trade safety for higher profits," Eddie Hall, national president of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET), said in a statement.
\u201cWith loopholes big enough to operate a 7,000\u2019 train through, this legislation essentially codifies a path to single person crews on many if not a majority of trains.\u201d— Railroad Workers United \u270a (@Railroad Workers United \u270a) 1677874220
While BLET appreciates that Brown's bill includes language stipulating that "no freight train may be operated without a two-person crew consisting of at least one appropriately qualified and certified conductor and one appropriately qualified and certified locomotive engineer," the union warned of "significant" exceptions in the proposal. For example, the bill as currently written would only apply to operations on long-distance freight trains.
BLET said it "will seek changes to the wording of the two-person crew language to tighten the loopholes."
"If the language is not precise, the Class 1 railroads will avoid the scope of the law without violating the law, yet again putting the safety of our members and American communities into harm's way," Hall argued. "You can run a freight train through the loopholes."
In 2015, the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration and the Federal Railroad Administration finalized a rule requiring the installation of electronically controlled pneumatic (ECP) braking systems on trains carrying hazardous materials.
Corporate lobbyists subsequently pressed the Obama administration to water down the rule, which was repealed entirely during the Trump administration's regulatory rollback spree.
\u201cThe proposed amendments are opposed by 5 major rail unions:\n\n@BLET (a member of @Teamsters)\n\nBrotherhood Railway Carmen Division (BRC/TCU/IAM) - a division of Transportation Communications Union (@TCUnionHQ)\n\n@smartunionworks \n\n(Others listed are not on Twitter)\u201d— Salem Snow (@Salem Snow) 1677870953
Current U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg has not made reinstating the ECP rule a priority. Instead, DOT regulators are considering a proposal backed by the Association of American Railroads, an industry lobby group, that would reduce brake testing. Five major rail unions including BLET strongly oppose the proposal.
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