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Rail Workers and Environmentalists to Teach Each Other

Submitted by x344543 on Wed, 01/21/2015 - 15:20

By Ron Kaminkow - Labor Notes, January 21, 2015

Disclaimer: The views expressed here are not the official position of the IWW (or even the IWW’s EUC) and do not necessarily represent the views of anyone but the author’s. Several IWW branches have, however, endorsed this effort.

With public attention focused on the railroads in a way it hasn’t been for decades, the cross-craft solidarity group Railroad Workers United is seizing the opportunity to teach the general public “railroading 101”—and teach rail workers “environmental politics 101.”

Both those workshops, among others, will be offered at one-day conferences on “The Future of Railroads: Safety, Workers, Community, and Environment,” March 14 in Richmond, California, and March 21 in Olympia, Washington. (See below for details.)

“My excitement about the conference is having railroaders, who on a daily basis are moving these really dangerous, volatile, flammable materials, having a dialogue with communities who want it to be made safe,” says activist Gifford Hartman.

“To my knowledge it’s never been done,” says Seattle switchman-conductor Jen Wallis. “Rail labor hasn’t worked with environmentalists to the degree that steelworkers and longshoremen and Teamsters have. It’s all very new.”

RWU is partnering with the Backbone Campaign and other groups to organize both events. The idea is to bring together rank-and-filers, environmentalists, and the general public.

Just as important as learning each other’s issues, Wallis says, is that “we get to know each other… So we have people we can call on when we have an issue on the table, and they can do the same with us.”

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Railroad Workers United (RWU)

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EcoUnionist News #23

Submitted by x344543 on Fri, 01/16/2015 - 10:13

Compiled by x344543 - IWW Environmental Unionism Caucus, January 17, 2015

Disclaimer: The views expressed here are not the official position of the IWW (or even the IWW’s EUC) and do not necessarily represent the views of anyone but the author’s.

The following news items feature issues, discussions, campaigns, or information potentially relevant to green unionists:

Lead Stories:

Hundreds Rally Against Proposed Propane Terminal at Planning and Sustainability Commission Hearing - By Yoko, Rising Tide Portland, January 13, 2015
The climate is ripe for social change: Forget the UN, social justice movements offer the only viable solution to global warming - By Vishwas Satgar, The Mail & Guardian, December 17, 2014

Carbon Bubble:

Oil prices and the devil's ransom - By Alexander Reid Ross, The Ecologist, January 15, 2015
This Is Just the Beginning of the Great American Oil Bust - By Wolf Richter, Wolf Street, January 12, 2015
How Wall Street Drove the Oil & Gas Drilling Boom That’s Turning into a Disaster - By Wolf Richter, Wolf Street, January 13, 2015
Apache workers face layoffs as oil prices fall - By Ryan Honeywell, FuelFix, January 14, 2015
BP cuts 200 North Sea staff, 100 contractors - Associated Press, FuelFix, January 15, 2015
Canadian oil firm to cut 1,000 jobs, curb spending - By Colin Eaton, FuelFix, January 13, 2015
Lewis Energy cuts jobs in wake of oil price crash - By Jenifer Hiller, FuelFix, January 14, 2015
OPEC Wants to “Crush US Shale” - By Andy Rowell, Oil Change International, January 15, 2015
San Antonio-based driller cutting 20 percent of workforce - By Jenifer Hiller, FuelFix, January 14, 2015
Suncor cutting 1,000 jobs, taking $1 billion out of 2015 budget - By Lauren Krugel, The Canadian Press, January 13, 2015
Texas job growth to slow as oil prices tank - By David Hendricks, FuelFix, January 13, 2015

Green Jobs and Just Transition:

Because another energy is possible: Looking back at 2014 (video) - Trade Unions for Energy Democracy, January 14, 2015
Offshore Wind More Profitable Than Drilling on U.S. East Coast, Report Says - Yale Environment 360, January 14, 2015
Ohio’s Renewable Energy Freeze Threatens Growth of Solar and Wind Investments and Jobs - By Anastasia Pantsios, EcoWatch, January 14, 2015
The Solar Industry Created More Jobs In 2014 Than Oil And Gas Extraction - By Katie Valentine, Think Progress, January 15, 2015
Solar Is Creating Jobs Nearly 20 Times Faster Than Overall U.S. Economy - By Anastasia Pantsios, EcoWatch, January 15, 2015
Solidarity, PA - By Abby Scher, Dissent, January 2015
US Solar Jobs Climb 22 Percent as Clean Power Aids Economic Recovery - By Justin Doom, Bloomberg, January 15, 2015
We Need Less Work, Not More - By Alexandra Bradbury, In These Times, January 15, 2015

Other News of Interest:

Breast cancer: the workplace aspects are too often forgotten by researchers - By European Trade Union Institute, January 14, 2015
Carbon Colonialism: How the Fight Against Climate Change Is Displacing Africans - By Nafeez Ahmed, Motherboard Vice, December 1, 2014
The Killer Fog That United Labor and Environmentalists - By Anna Hiatt, New Republic, September 19, 2014
Pushing through the pipeline - By Nicole Colson and Brian Ward, Socialist Worker, January 14, 2015
Rio Earth Summit: From Red Scare to Green Scare - By European Trade Union Institute, January 14, 2015
US Department of Transportation Delays New Rules on 'Bomb Trains' - By Peter Rugh, Vice News, January 15, 2015

For more green news, please visit our news feeds section on ecology.iww.org; Twitter #IWWEUC

Tags:

Eco Unionist News

green unionism

Rising Tide Portland

International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU)

Keystone XL Pipeline (KXL)

crude-by-rail

railroad workers

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Bay Area IWW Endorses "The Future of Railroads: Safety, Workers, Community & the Environment" Conference

Submitted by x344543 on Sun, 01/11/2015 - 17:43

Passed unanimously at the Bay Area IWW General Membership Branch meeting, Thursday, January 8, 2015

Whereas, there has been growing opposition to the transportation of volatile heavy and dirty crude by rail transport in recent months, and

Whereas, in 2013 there were more derailments of crude-by-rail trains than in the previous four decades combines, the most dramatic but not the last of which occurred in Lac Magantic, Quebec, and

Whereas, these derailments have resulted in destruction and death to residents of these communities, loss of life and limb to the railroad workers involved in the transport of these volatile cargoes, but little or no penalty to the profiteering employers responsible for the transport of such cargoes, and

Whereas, the opposition to such transport stems from the inherent danger to the affected communities as well as the environment--due to the destructive extraction process of the source material, the enabling of further extreme carbon fuel production and consumption, the destruction of wilderness environments, the pollution of the air and water, and the destruction of mostly indigenous lands from which the crude is extracted--and

Whereas, railroad workers are often blamed for these accidents through employer created "blame the worker" so-called "safety" cultures, and

Whereas, the actual safety hazards are the result of capitalist corner cutting, including--but not limited to--the reduction in railroad crew sizes, the deployment of overly long and heavy trains, the lack of safety monitoring equipment, and the use of unsafe tank cars, and

Whereas, railroads also carry a variety of other, equally volatile cargoes under no less unsafe conditions, but such cargoes are not scrutinized to the same extent as crude-by-rail by many environmental organizations, and

Whereas, the railroad workers and environmental organizers share a common adversary in the capitalist class who've created these conditions, and

Whereas, Railroad Workers United and the Backbone Campaign have committed to jointly sponsor a series of conferences, beginning on the Weekend of March 14-15 in Richmond, California and March 21-22 in Seattle, Washington to be entitled, “The Future of Rail: Safety, Workers, Community and the Environment”, and

Whereas, leaders in these efforts from Railroad Workers United include dues paying members of the IWW, including a member of the Bay Area IWW General Membership Branch who is also one of the cofounders of the IWW Environmental Unionism Caucus, and

Whereas, a post capitalist, ecologically sustainable society would involve increased use of transport by rail for both passengers and cargo (though not for climate destroying fossil fuels), therefore

Be it Resolved that, the Bay Area General Membership Branch of the IWW endorses "the Future of Rail: Safety, Workers, Community and the Environment" conferences organized by Railroad Workers United, the Backbone Campaign, et. al, and

Be it Finally Resolved that, the Bay Area General Membership Branch of the IWW further encourages all other IWW branches and the IWW General Executive Branch to likewise endorse the aforementioned efforts.

Tags:

Industrial Workers of the World (IWW)

Bay Area IWW

green unionism

green syndicalism

green industrial unionism

Railroad Workers United (RWU)

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EcoUnionist News #18

Submitted by x344543 on Mon, 01/05/2015 - 18:59

Compiled by x344543 - IWW Environmental Unionism Caucus, January 6, 2015

Disclaimer: The views expressed here are not the official position of the IWW (or even the IWW’s EUC) and do not necessarily represent the views of anyone but the author’s.

The following news items feature issues, discussions, campaigns, or information potentially relevant to green unionists:

Lead Story:

Never Trust a COP: The 2014 UN Climate Summit, Lima, Peru - By John Foran, Climate Justice Project, December 14, 2014

Railroad Workers, Safety, and the Environment:

How crude-by-rail-–and other debates–-are censored - By Lois Kazakoff, San Francisco Chronicle, January 2, 2015
How Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton Made Oil Trains Less Safe - By Eric de Place, Sightline Daily, January 5, 2015
JR Hokkaido admits express train ran for month with automatic stop system deactivated - Japan Times, December 30, 2014
[Graphic]: Train Derailments Not Good News in Canada - Railroaded Blog, January 2, 2015

Black Lives Matter:

15Now and #BlackLivesMatter Take Over Town Hall Meeting on TPP Fast Track - By Anonymous, Earth First! Newswire, January 3, 2015
Uniting Fight for $15 with Ferguson Fury - By Ty Moore, 15 Now Organizing Director, 15 Now, January 3, 2015
The Police Were Created to Control Poor and Working Class People - By Sam Mitrani, Counter Punch, December 31, 2014

Other News of Interest:

Deal offers hope for miners thrown out of work in W. Kentucky - By Andrew Topf, Mining.Com, January 4, 2015
Feed the World? The Myth of Food Scarcity and the Evil of Profit Starvation - By Daniel Dawson, Freedom, January 1, 2015
Fracking Industry Still “Failing” on Transparency - By Carey L. Biron, Mint News Press, January 2, 2015
The Marikana miners deserve justice - By James Nichol, Socialist Worker, January 5, 2015
Power corrupts: How network companies lined their pockets and drove electricity prices through the roof - By Jess Hill, The Monthly, July 2014
Remembering Sago - By Nick Mullins, The Thoughtful Coalminer, January 3, 2015
Senator Pushes Keystone XL Pipeline With Egregiously Misleading Statistic - By Emily Atkin, Think Progress, January 4, 2015
2014 Year-End Mining Industry Scorecard - By Payal Sampat, Earthworks, December 31, 2014

For more green news, please visit our news feeds section on ecology.iww.org; Twitter #IWWEUC

Tags:

green industrial unionism

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EcoUnionist News #16

Submitted by x344543 on Tue, 12/30/2014 - 19:02

Compiled by x344543 - IWW Environmental Unionism Caucus, December 31, 2014

Disclaimer: The views expressed here are not the official position of the IWW (or even the IWW’s EUC) and do not necessarily represent the views of anyone but the author’s.

The following news items feature issues, discussions, campaigns, or information potentially relevant to green unionists:

Lead Stories:

There is No Drought: California’s Twisted Water Ways - By EastWest, FireWorks Anarchist Counterinformation Project for the Bay Area, December 26, 2014

Railroad Workers, Safety, and the Environment:

Aging Railway Infrastructure Raises Safety Concerns As Bay Area Readies To Receive Dramatic Increase Of Bakken Crude Oil, Part 1 Of 3 - By Jeffrey Shaub and Giancarlo Rulli, KCBS, December 29, 2014
Investigation: federal railroad officials ignore regulations on fatigue - By Bill Lambrecht, CTPost.com, December 27, 2014
Oil Trains: The Industry Speaks for Itself - By Eric de Place, Sightline Daily, December 30, 2014
Railroads, unions to begin collective bargaining talks next month - By Russell Hubbard, Omaha World-Herald, December 26, 2014

Other News of Interest:

[Appeal]: Help Capital Bikeshare Employees Unionize!
Bosnian Workers who Started February Demonstrations are Leaving the Country on Foot - Revolution News, December 26, 2014
'Change the System, Not the Climate!' - By Asoka Bandarage, Huffington Post, December 20, 2014
Green Neocolonialism, Afro-Brazilian Rebellion in Brazil - By Santiago Navarro F., Renata Bessi and Translated by Miriam Taylor, Truthout, December 28, 2014
How 13 Complaints Against McDonald’s Could Help Millions Unionize - By David Moberg, In These Times, December 23, 2014
Morton Salt facility partially collapses; further building inspections to come - By WGN Web Desk and Gaynor Hall, WGN TV, December 30, 2014
Oil-field lodging company slashes jobs, curbs spending - By Collin Eaton, FuelFix, December 29, 2014
Rio Tinto ‘representative of the destructive and devouring process of colonization’ - By Steven Newcomb, Papua New Guinea Mine Watch, December 30, 2014
Trafficking, Child Labor May Be Growing In Global Chocolate Industry: Labor advocates say failure to address the root causes of poverty among cocoa farming communities may be leading to both human trafficking and child labor along the chocolate industry’s supply chains - By Carey L. Biron, Mint Press News, December 26, 2014
Unsustainable growth can’t be wished away: When it comes to explaining destructive growth, many green writers confuse cause and effect - By Ian Angus, Climate and Capitalism, December 30, 2014
Up to 700 jobless as Patriot Coal idles mines in western Kentucky - By Cecilia Jamasmie, Mining.Com, December 29, 2014

For more green news, please visit our news feeds section on ecology.iww.org; Twitter #IWWEUC

Tags:

Railroad Workers United (RWU)

railroad workers

International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers (SMART)

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EcoUnionist News #15

Submitted by x344543 on Tue, 12/30/2014 - 12:53

Compiled by x344543 - IWW Environmental Unionism Caucus, December 30, 2014

Disclaimer: The views expressed here are not the official position of the IWW (or even the IWW’s EUC) and do not necessarily represent the views of anyone but the author’s.

The following news items feature issues, discussions, campaigns, or information potentially relevant to green unionists:

Lead Stories:

Did Somebody Say Direct Action? What’s Missing from the Victory Narrative - By Alexander Reid Ross, Earth First! Journal, December 22, 2014
Everything’s Coming Together While Everything Falls Apart - By Rebecca Solnit, Tom Dispatch, December 23, 2014
Protest too much? 2014 was a big year for rabblerousing - By Heather Smith, Grist, December 23, 2014

Other News of Interest:

BHP, Rio, Anglo fear effects of Chile’s new labour bill - By Cecilia Jamasmie, Mining.Com, December 23, 2014
Busting the Myth of “Job-Killing EPA Regulations” - By Ken Kimmell, President, Union of Concerned Scientists, Renewable Energy World, December 28, 2014
Canadian Pension Funds To Invest In Renewables To The Tune Of $2 Billion - By Joshua S Hill, Clean Technica, December 24, 2014
A Dollar a Day Keeps the Smokestacks Away [Fundraising appeal for a project involving IWW members] - By Josh, Energy Justice Network, December 23, 2014
Electricity suppliers are shedding jobs, despite renewables growth - By Melissa C. Lott, Scientific American, December 23, 2014; [related]: Employment Drops in All Segments of the Power Sector—Except Renewables - By Julia Pyper, Greentech Media, December 24, 2014
Environmentalists Are Gearing Up for the Next Phase of New York's Fracking Wars - By Peter Rugh, Vice, December 18, 2014
The 4 Day Week? - By Tegan Tallulla, Earth Baby Blog, September 30, 2013
Innovations or Hucksterism? Three Little-Known Infrastructure Privatization Problems - By Ellen Dannin, Truthout, December 22, 2014
Marathon evacuates personnel from two North Sea platforms - By Robert Grattan, Fuel Fix, December 23, 2014
Dave Kerin on Workers’ Cooperatives and the Climate Emergency - By Dave Kerin, Anarchist Affinity, November 12, 2014
Phoenix warns of bus disruptions as union negotiates - By Brenna Goth, Arizona Republic, December 24, 2014
Railroads seek permission to put a single person in charge of miles-long freight trains [Quotes IWW members] - By Josh Funk, Star Tribune, December 22, 2014
Railroads, unions to begin collective bargaining talks next month - By Russell Hubbard, Omaha World-Herald, December 26, 2014
Talcher workers up against coal mining privatization - Nyooz, December 2014
TTIP: Chemical corporations against safety protections - By Patrick Gleeson, The Ecologist, December 24, 2014

For more green news, please visit our news feeds section on ecology.iww.org; Twitter #IWWEUC

Read more about EcoUnionist News #15

Crews rush to contain spill after CP derailment in Banff park sends train cars into creek

Submitted by x363464 on Mon, 12/29/2014 - 17:34

By Reid Southwick - Calgary Herald, December 26, 2014

Disclaimer: The views expressed here are not the official position of the IWW (or even the IWW’s EUC) and do not necessarily represent the views of anyone but the author’s.

Crews were scrambling on Friday to clean up the scene of the latest train derailment that spilled ash and grain into a Banff creek and caused the water to become cloudy just upstream from the Bow River.

The derailment on Canadian Pacific’s main line through Banff National Park has reignited concerns about railway safety and the speeds at which trains travel through sensitive habitats.

The spilled ash and grain each pose their own potential problems for wildlife, one that could lower acidity levels for aquatic life, another that could attract bears to unsafe territory.

Parks Canada doesn’t expect any long-term impacts on the local environment, though its officials planned to continue monitoring water quality.

Fifteen Canadian Pacific cars loaded with lentils and fly ash — a component of cement and a byproduct of coal-fired plants — fell off the tracks on a bridge crossing over 40 Mile Creek near Banff townsite at 2 a.m. Friday.

Seven rail cars fell into the creek spilling some of their contents, which turned the water into a murky colour, though it doesn’t appear to be affecting the Bow River, which is about 200 metres downstream.

“The bridge is a wreck,” said John Cottreau, a spokesman for the Transportation Safety Board, which is investigating the crash.

Alberta Environment, which has dispatched crews to the scene to help make sure the site is properly cleaned, said its greatest concern is the fly ash, which can create sedimentation problems and decrease acidity levels.

The impact that the spill will have on fish in 40 Mile Creek will depend on the amount of ash that was spilled, which has not yet been determined, spokeswoman Katrina Bluetchen said.

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railroad workers

health and safety

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EcoUnionist News #11

Submitted by x344543 on Wed, 12/17/2014 - 18:58

Compiled by x344543 - IWW Environmental Unionism Caucus, December 18, 2014

Disclaimer: The views expressed here are not the official position of the IWW (or even the IWW’s EUC) and do not necessarily represent the views of anyone but the author’s.

The following news items feature issues, discussions, campaigns, or information potentially relevant to green unionists:

Lead Story:

We must fight for clean energy the same way we fight for healthcare for all - By Erin Carrera, National Nurses United, December 12, 2014

Dispatches from Lima COP20:

'A Roadmap to Global Burning': COP20 Closes With Even Weaker Climate Pact: Climate campaigners lament: "It sucks. It is taking us backwards." - By Lauren McCauley, Common Dreams, December 15, 2014
Burning the Planet, One Climate COP at a time - By Mary Louise Malig, Global Forest Coalition, December 13, 2014
Emissions-Cutting Deal Reached at COP 20 Lima, But Will It Help Prevent Catastrophic Climate Change? - Suzanne Goldenberg, U.S. environment correspondent for The Guardian; in London, Asad Rehman, head of international climate for Friends of the Earth; and in New Delhi, Nitin Sethi, associate editor at Business Standard interviewed by Amy Goodman, Democracy Now, December 15, 2014
“If the energy source requires a smoke stack, then it isn’t clean.” - By Lara Norkus-Crampton, National Nurses United, December 12, 2014
Lima agreement fails humanity and the earth - Climate and Capitalism, December 14, 2014
Lima Climate COP Fails (of course) - By Anne Petermann, Global Justice Ecology Project, December 15, 2014
The UN climate talks just failed: now for the real battle - By Assaad W. Razzouk, The Ecologist, December 15, 2014

Other News of Interest:

'The Alarm Bells are Ringing': From Athletes to Environmentalists, a Universal Call for Racial Justice Emerges - By Lauren McCauley, Common Dreams, December 9, 2014
California communities fight back against crude by rail - By Tara Lohan, Faces of Fracking, December 13, 2014
Gold Miners Join Class Action Suit in South Africa Over Lung Disease - By Emilie Iob, Voice of America, December 11, 2014
Update: Three contractors dead, two hospitalized in workover rig fire - By Jennifer Hiller, Jennifer Hiller, December 12, 2014

For more green news, please visit our news feeds section on ecology.iww.org; Twitter #IWWEUC

Tags:

green unionism

Big Green

COP20

National Nurses United

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EcoUnionist News #10

Submitted by x344543 on Mon, 12/15/2014 - 18:09

Compiled by x344543 - IWW Environmental Unionism Caucus, December 17, 2014

Disclaimer: The views expressed here are not the official position of the IWW (or even the IWW’s EUC) and do not necessarily represent the views of anyone but the author’s.

The following news items feature issues, discussions, campaigns, or information potentially relevant to green unionists:

Lead Story:

Pipe Dreams? Labor Researchers Say Keystone XL Project May Kill More Jobs Than It Creates - Sean Sweeney, director and founder of the Global Labor Institute at Cornell University, and Bruce Hamilton, vice president of Amalgamated Transit Union interviewed by Amy Goodman, Democracy Now!, December 12, 2014

Urgent Action:

Philippines sugar organizer murdered - Act Now!

Dispatches from Lima COP20:

'Get the FF Out': Campaigners Reject Fossil Fuel Influence at Climate Summit - By Lauren McCauley, Common Dreams, December 8, 2014
Lima COP20 Climate Summit Marked By Protests, Publicity Stunts and PR Promises - By Brendan DeMelle, DeSmog Blog, December 10, 2014
Lima's UN climate talks aren't even focusing on keeping down temperatures - By Simeon Tegel, Global Post, December 10, 2014
People’s Summit in Lima Envisions Bottom-Up Movement for Global Climate Justice - By Sarah Lazare, Common Dreams, December 9, 2014
Resistance and Solidarity at COP20, Lima - By Chris Eaton, Rising Tide North America, December 12, 2014
Scenes from Climate Change Summit in Peru - By Lara Norkus-Crampton, National Nurses United, December 11, 2014

Other News of Interest:

Cultivating Climate Justice through Compost: the Story of Hernani, Spain - By Beverly Bell, Global Justice Ecology Project, December 11, 2014
Greetings from the Frontline Shale Fields of Pennsylvania - By Spencer Johnson, Talk Fracking, December 11, 2014
Native Americans challenge construction of Mojave Desert solar plant - By Louis Sahagun, Los Angeles Times, December 12, 2014
New strike hits Peru's largest copper mine - By Cecilia Jamasmie, Mining.Com, December 11, 2014
North Dakota's Meaningless New Bakken Oil Regulations Will Keep Bomb Trains Rolling - By Justin Mikulka, DeSmog Blog, December 11, 2014
NRC cites Palisades for worker radiological safety violations, record number of failures during Component Design Basis Inspections - Beyond Nuclear, December 11, 2014
Seven injured, two seriously, in explosion at rail car repair facility near Atchison - By Michelle Pekarsky, Megan Dillard and Eric Burke, Fox4 Kansas City News, December 11, 2014
Todos Somos SAWETO - By Michael Williams, Blue-Green Blog, December 10, 2014

For more green news, please visit our news feeds section on ecology.iww.org; Twitter #IWWEUC

Tags:

green unionism

COP20

climate justice

nuclear power workers

fracking

crude-by-rail

mine workers

jobs versus environment

Keystone XL Pipeline (KXL)

National Nurses United

North America's Building Trades Unions (NABTU)

Read more about EcoUnionist News #10

Fighting Fatigue

Submitted by x332349 on Wed, 12/10/2014 - 21:37

By Jenny Brown - Labor Notes, December 3, 2014

Disclaimer: The views expressed here are not the official position of the IWW (or even the IWW’s EUC) and do not necessarily represent the views of anyone but the author’s.

Paul Proudlock went to bed at midnight to calibrate his sleep for a freight train he was to drive at 2 p.m. the next day. At 2:15 a.m., a Canadian Pacific dispatcher called him and asked him to take a passenger train in three hours.

“I’m not rested,” Proudlock is heard explaining in a company recording. The dispatcher threatened to discipline him and cancel his 2 p.m. train. “You’re obligated to go. If you answer the phone, you have to go.”

“No, I’m not,” said Proudlock. “I’m obligated to do the safe thing first… I drive a train.”

This kind of pressure is commonplace, according to railroad and airline workers. They say managers push workers to pilot planes, trains, and buses when they are too tired to safely do so. The stakes are high for the workers—and for the general public.

3/4 FELL ASLEEP

In a survey of freight train operators conducted by the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference, 96 percent said they had gone to work tired. More alarmingly, three-quarters said they fell asleep while working—in the previous month. Among those who, like Proudlock, turned down jobs because of fatigue, 43 percent said they faced investigation or discipline.

“They’ll pressure people… and people don’t know what leg to stand on,” said CSX locomotive engineer J.P. Wright, who is based in Kentucky. “There are so many gray areas in the contract, if you could see a flow chart, it’s like a Merrie Melodies crazy cartoon.”

The railroads claim they don’t push people to work tired. Regulators scolded Canadian Pacific in the Proudlock case.

The main problem with freight railroads, said Wright, is that “they’ve short-staffed everything to the bone.” So when somebody takes time off, others have to unexpectedly fill in, creating cascades of scheduling complexity.

While rest times were increased in a 2008 rewrite of railroad scheduling rules, fatigue problems persist.

And regulations don’t help if the penalties are low, along with the chances of being fined. “I was just told, on a recorded CSX line, that they knew specifically they were violating the rest law but they would just go ahead and pay the fine,” said Wright, who is co-chair of the cross-union caucus Railroad Workers United.

Tags:

Railroad Workers United (RWU)

Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU)

J.P.Wright

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railroad workers

Rail Workers and Environmentalists to Teach Each Other

EcoUnionist News #23

Lead Stories:

Carbon Bubble:

Green Jobs and Just Transition:

Other News of Interest:

Bay Area IWW Endorses "The Future of Railroads: Safety, Workers, Community & the Environment" Conference

EcoUnionist News #18

Lead Story:

Railroad Workers, Safety, and the Environment:

Black Lives Matter:

Other News of Interest:

EcoUnionist News #16

Lead Stories:

Railroad Workers, Safety, and the Environment:

Other News of Interest:

EcoUnionist News #15

Lead Stories:

Other News of Interest:

Crews rush to contain spill after CP derailment in Banff park sends train cars into creek

EcoUnionist News #11

Lead Story:

Dispatches from Lima COP20:

Other News of Interest:

EcoUnionist News #10

Lead Story:

Urgent Action:

Dispatches from Lima COP20:

Other News of Interest:

Fighting Fatigue

3/4 FELL ASLEEP

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The Fine Print I:

The Fine Print II:

Official IWW Notice: