Railroader Nabs Pulitzer Nomination

Not many people can say that they’ve written three books or have been nominated for a Pulitzer Prize.

Brother Carlos Wallace, a fifth-generation railroader out of Local 11 in Houston, Texas, has done both.

“I think the impact of the writing has me more excited than the actual accolade,” Wallace said. “When I started to understand the criteria and what they look for and how it’s about things that can make society better, that’s when it meant something to me. In my writing, to me, that’s what’s most important: making the world a better place.”

The Pulitzer Prize is an annual award that recognizes achievement in American journalism, letters and music. Out of an initial pool of 1,400 nominees, Brother Wallace has advanced to the top 50, who are still in the running. He says that the winner will likely be announced sometime in June. The Pulitzer is awarded by Columbia University in New York City.

Wallace served as the Local Chairperson for Local 11 and the Secretary of GCA-927, while also working for Union Pacific. Traveling as an organizer for the United Transportation Union (UTU) gave him the opportunity to meet a lot of different people and experience different scenarios, which factored heavily into his writing.

Wallace’s first book centers around his East Texas upbringing and the principles that his parents and grandparents instilled in him.

“I’ve yet to meet anybody in my life that can say that they worked in the same industry as their great-great-great grandfather,” Wallce reflected. “Society works much like the operation of the railroad. All it takes is one part failing, and it can make the entire operation fail. But if it’s built properly enough, we can assist and help bring it back on board. It’s just making those comparisons from railroading to real life, and it’s taught me so much.”

Brother Wallace’s third book, Why Sell Lies When the Truth is Free, nabbed him the Pulitzer nomination. The book is his first venture into fiction. He admits that it was a little tougher to write than his first two, which he classifies as motivational and empowering books.

“I’m very proud of [my third book]. I was able to craft a good story, and it caught the recognition of some really good people in the literary world,” Wallace said. “It’s all based on real facts and real things that happen, and I just kind of put them all together to make one story.

“I am a die hard. I only know union,” Wallace emphasized. “I want to thank the men and women from the bottom-up because it takes everyone, and it makes me extremely proud to say that I’m a SMART member. There’s never a day that I’m not proud of my union.”