Fool Me Once, Shame on You: Avery Frix Burned Our Support Once, And Won’t Get It Again

To the people of Oklahoma’s 2nd Congressional District: We were wrong to trust him, but we won’t make that mistake again. State Senator Avery Frix took our support, our votes, and our endorsement, only to stab us in the back when it mattered most.

Frix Took Our Support, Then Turned Against Us

Republican Avery Frix once claimed to be a champion for rail safety and the working people of Oklahoma. We believed him. SMART-TD supported this young Republican while he was a State House Representative and threw our weight behind him when he ran for U.S. Congress. We endorsed him based on his promises to support two-person crews on freight trains and his history as an advocate for rail safety. We don’t play party politics. We supported him because we believed he stood with us. 

Fortunately, Frix failed in his run for Congress. However, he is back in OKC as a sitting State Senator. As soon as Frix secured his seat in Oklahoma’s Senate, he showed his true colors. He turned his back on the very people who helped him get there. Frix, who once claimed to fight for the safety of railroaders and their communities, became a politician who couldn’t be bothered to vote on critical safety measures like wayside defect detectors that keep us and the towns we roll through safe. 

On February 24th, when Senate Bill 358 came up for a vote in the Oklahoma Senate Aeronautics and Transportation Committee, Frix voted against additional and more trustworthy defect detectors despite knowing exactly how critical this measure is to keep railroaders safe and Oklahoma communities from becoming the next East Palestine, Ohio. And when our State Safety/Legislative Director Kyle Pence reached out to him for support, Frix couldn’t even return a phone call or email. He also wasn’t man enough to look Brother Pense in the eye during the committee hearing. It’s clear: Frix is no longer with us. 

You Only Get to Burn Our Support Once 

It’s not common for a union to publicly admit when we’ve backed the wrong candidate, but we’re making an exception in this case. Frix took everything he could from us—our endorsement, our time, our money, and our trust only to turn around and work against us once he got into office. 

A politician who takes our support and then betrays us is a special kind of scab. This kind of backstabbing won’t be tolerated. Avery Frix had his chance to defend our safety, and now we know where he stands. He is 100% against us, and we will not let him operate in the shadows any longer. 

The Fight for Rail Safety Continues 

We’re not backing down. Oklahoma’s SMART-TD Legislative Board is pushing forward with a strong agenda, having already introduced nine rail safety bills in the first two months of this year. Pense and his team will continue to aggressively fight for the safety and well-being of our members. If Frix or any legislator wants off our train, they need to know it isn’t stopping or slowing down. 

To Senator Frix: Good luck on the dismount.