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railroad safety
'Betrayal of Labor': Biden Nominates Ex-Trump Official to Amtrak Board
"This appointment reads less like an oversight and more like a slap in the face to those who championed worker safety and stronger regulations," said Railroad Workers United.
May 03, 2024
Rail workers voiced outrage Thursday after U.S. President Joe Biden quietly nominated a former Trump administration official with a history of supporting deregulation to Amtrak's board of directors, a move that one alliance of unions called a "slap in the face."
Ronald Batory, who has ties to the rail industry, served as head of the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) under former President Donald Trump, who aggressively slashed transport and rail safety regulations during his four years in office—laying the groundwork for disasters such as the East Palestine, Ohio crash.
The Associated Pressnotes that before serving at the FRA, Batory was president and chief operating officer of Conrail, "a service provider for the CSX and Norfolk Southern freight railroads." Norfolk Southern operated the train that derailed in East Palestine last year, spilling toxic chemicals and sparking a public health crisis.
In 2019, Batory faced backlash from rail unions for withdrawing a proposed rule aimed at establishing mandatory crew sizes on freight and passenger trains.
"President Donald Trump, [Department of Transportation] Secretary Elaine Chao, and FRA Administrator Ron Batory have taken sides, and it's with the railroads that want to eliminate operating crew members to the detriment of rail safety and to the detriment of the communities through which our members operate trains," SMART Transportation Division said at the time.
"Clearly, the railroad CEOs have their folks in power with President Trump and his administration," the union added. "This action should put an end to any thoughts that this president and this administration is supportive of railroad workers."
Earlier this month, Biden's FRA finalized a rule requiring two-person crews on trains with limited exceptions. The reform received praise from railway workers and their allies.
But an organization representing rail workers across the U.S. said Biden's decision to nominate Batory to the board of Amtrak—the nation's passenger railroad company—calls into question the president's commitment to worker and rail safety.
"Batory, renowned for his role in loosening rail safety regulations during a tenure that critics link to subsequent rail disasters like East Palestine, is now poised to shape Amtrak's future," Railroad Workers United (RWU) wrote on social media late Thursday. "Remember the 2022 rail workers' debacle? When labor unions hoped for Biden's support, and instead got a presidential shove to accept a contract that many felt skirted around their key demands? It's almost poetic then, how Biden's nomination of Batory seems to echo that same disregard."
"The message to labor seems clear: Loyalty and votes might get you a seat at the table, but don't count on staying there if bigger political machinations are at play," RWU added. "With Batory's track record, this appointment reads less like an oversight and more like a slap in the face to those who championed worker safety and stronger regulations. It's as if the administration is keen on maintaining a tradition—disappointing the very base that arguably played a pivotal role in securing their position. Let's brace ourselves for more 'strategic' decisions that may just reroute us back to the past, disregarding those who handle the daily grind on our railroads."
Well, it seems @POTUS has truly outdone himself this time, nominating Ronald L. Batory—yes, the deregulation aficionado from the Trump era—to the @Amtrak Board of Directors. https://t.co/dVMWEApL5D
— Railroad Workers United ✊ (@railroadworkers) May 3, 2024
Biden also nominated Elaine Marie Clegg, the CEO of Valley Regional Transit, to an Amtrak board position.
Clegg and Batory must be confirmed by the U.S. Senate.
Railway Age contributing editor Frank Wilner wrote Thursday that Batory could face a Democratic "hold" on his nomination in the Senate "given that many in rail labor are unhappy" with his withdrawal of the train crew rule during his tenure as FRA administrator.
Ross Grooters, a Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen member and co-chair of RWU, said Thursday that Biden's nomination of Batory "is a betrayal of labor, arguably bigger than the 2022 contract dispute."
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Casey, Fetterman Push Norfolk Southern to Join Close Call Reporting System
"After the East Palestine derailment, Norfolk Southern announced on March 2 that it would join the C3RS report system," they noted. "However, since your initial announcement, you have not followed through on this pledge."
Aug 18, 2023
Democratic U.S. Sens. Bob Casey and John Fetterman of Pennsylvania on Friday urged the CEO of Norfolk Southern to follow through on a promise to take part in a "near-miss" reporting system more than six months after one of the company's freight trains carrying hazardous materials derailed and burned in East Palestine, Ohio.
In a letter to Norfolk Southern president and CEO Alan Shaw, Casey and Fetterman praised the company for its "important first step toward taking accountability by agreeing to participate in the Confidential Close Call Reporting System (C3RS)."
"After the East Palestine derailment, Norfolk Southern announced on March 2 that it would join the C3RS report system," the senators wrote. "However, since your initial announcement, you have not followed through on this pledge."
The senators continued:
C3RS is a promising program with real potential to improve rail safety, protect employees, and reduce incidents if adopted by a larger swath of the rail industry. C3RS acts as one unified database for reporting and, with NASA as an independent third-party administrator, ensures confidentiality and protects against retribution against employees who make reports. Ensuring that employees are not disciplined for reporting near-misses is key to making the program effective, as employees are more likely to report these incidents when they have a guarantee of anonymity and safety from retribution. In turn, addressing the near-misses reported through C3RS makes rail safer by preventing more serious catastrophes.
Casey and Fetterman noted that a recent Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) Safety Culture Assessment of Norfolk Southern "paid particular attention to the railroad's engagement with employees and management on safety issues" and found that company employees and management "do not always work to foster mutual trust." One in three labor leaders interviewed by FRA and a similar ratio of workers surveyed said they were reluctant "to stop an unsafe action due to a fear of retaliation or disciplinary action."
"FRA reported that members of labor and Norfolk Southern leadership indicated that some employees may be hesitant to use their company's internal near-miss reporting system 'out of concern that the report could be traced back to the employee,'" the letter notes. "Allowing the railroads to punish employees who report safety concerns would not only harm rail workers who are simply doing the right thing, but also undermine the program and make rail less safe."
The senators asked Shaw four questions:
- Does Norfolk Southern still intend to join C3RS?
- Will Norfolk Southern commit to formally joining C3RS before the end of this year?
- Since the FRA Safety Culture Assessment was published, what actions has Norfolk Southern taken to assess internal safety culture, particularly around mutual trust between employees and leadership?
- Does Norfolk Southern have data or other evidence indicating that employees at their railroads are more likely than those at participating railroads to utilize the C3RS program to avoid discipline?
According to a New York Times article published last week, freight rail companies have been working with the FRA on an agreement to the terms of their participation in the C3RS program. Vincent G. Verna, a vice president of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen, told the paper that rail companies "do not want to relinquish their ability to discipline their employees who report something if they think there's a rule that has been violated."
Norfolk Southern told the USA Today Network on Friday that it is "making good progress toward operationalizing our membership" in C3RS.
"We met with FRA representatives in May to receive an initial briefing on the program, and with labor representatives this month to discuss the multiparty memorandum of understanding and the subsequent implementation of a pilot program," the company added.
Earlier this month, railroad workers marked the six-month anniversary of the East Palestine disaster by calling on Congress to pass comprehensive safety legislation to stop rail companies from "choosing Wall Street over Main Street."
"For years, workers have sounded the alarm about deadly safety conditions in the freight rail industry," the Transportation Trades Department (TTD) of the AFL-CIO, which represents 37 unions, said. "The industry's safety failures contribute to more than 1,000 freight train derailments a year."
Casey and Fetterman previously wrote Shaw demanding answers about Norfolk Southern's response and cleanup plans in the wake of the February 3 East Palestine derailment. The senators have also pressed the Environmental Protection Agency to hold Norfolk Southern accountable for releasing hazardous materials into the air and water.
The Pennsylvania senators also joined Sens. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), J.D. Vance (R-Ohio), Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), and Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) in introducing the bipartisan Railway Safety Act of 2023, legislation that would impose limits on freight train lengths—which in some cases currently exceed three miles.
Amid the national focus on rail safety following the East Palestine disaster, workers, politicians, and safety advocates pointed to the railroad industry's profit-maximizing scheduling system that forces fewer workers to manage longer trains in less time. Unions and progressive lawmakers contend that this makes the nation's rail system more dangerous and contributes to derailments.
Some critics also noted that rail industry operatives spent more than a half-billion dollars lobbying against improved railroad safety rules at the federal and state levels over the past two decades, while others drew attention to the billions of dollars in stock buybacks and dividends issued by railroad companies—money advocates say would be better spent on ensuring better staffing and safety levels.
It's not just railroad companies. Occidental Petroleum, which manufactured the toxic chemicals released and burned after the East Palestine derailment, gave $2 million to the leading Senate Republican super PAC as proposed rail safety legislation stalled in Congress.
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'Same Sh*t, Different Day,' Says Fetterman After Yet Another Norfolk Southern Derailment
"It's time to finally hold Norfolk Southern and the big rail companies accountable for the harm they have caused in East Palestine and Darlington Township, and the harm they continue to cause with this dangerous, reckless, and selfish behavior."
May 11, 2023
U.S. Sen. John Fetterman on Thursday demanded accountability for Norfolk Southern and other railroad companies following Wednesday night's freight train derailment in Lawrence County, Pennsylvania.
Local media report nine out of more than 200 cars on a Norfolk Southern train went off the track just before midnight in the town of New Castle, 50 miles north of Pittsburgh and about 10 miles east of the Ohio border.
"This has got to end."
Fire officials said that salt, soybeans, and paraffin wax—used to make candles—spilled from the derailed cars, none of which were carrying hazardous materials. A statement from Norfolk Southern said no one was injured in the accident.
New Castle is also located about 20 miles from East Palestine, Ohio, the site of the fiery Norfolk Southern derailment and chemical burn disaster that spilled cancer-causing dioxin and vinyl chloride into the air, soil, and waterways in the vicinity of the accident.
"It's the same shit, different day from Norfolk Southern," Fetterman (D-Pa.) said in a statement on Thursday afternoon.
\u201chttps://t.co/lliFDm9xzI\nAnother Norfolk Southern train has derailed, this one in New Castle Pennsylvania. This derailment is 30 minutes away from East Palestine. When is Norfolk Southern going to be held accountable for endangering public safety? #publicownership #norfolksouthern\u201d— Northeast PA DSA (@Northeast PA DSA) 1683826695
"It's time to finally hold Norfolk Southern and the big rail companies accountable for the harm they have caused in East Palestine and Darlington Township, and the harm they continue to cause with this dangerous, reckless, and selfish behavior," the freshman senator continued. Darlington Township, Pennsylvania is located about nine miles east of East Palestine.
"I'm thankful that no one was hurt and no toxic material was spilled in New Castle, but this derailment looks way too similar to the ones we've said can't happen again," Fetterman said. "This has got to end."
"I'm proud that my bipartisan bill, the Railway Safety Act, advanced out of committee yesterday," added Fetterman, who has also introduced the Railroad Accountability Act.
"This bill will finally enact commonsense rail safety procedures that would have prevented last night's derailment," the lawmaker asserted of the measure advanced Wednesday. "It's time to pass this bill on the floor and finally hold Norfolk Southern accountable."
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