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A bipartisan coalition of United States Senators are seeking to get to the root of PSR. 

In the wake of the East Palestine, Ohio, derailment of a Norfolk Southern train on Feb. 3, there are many questions being asked about what caused the disaster and what is being done to prevent it from happening again. This week, U.S. senators from Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Florida, seem to have seen enough to know that no matter what the final determination of the what took the NS train off the rail literally, that the railroads’ corporate policy of Precision Scheduled Railroading (PSR) is taking the safety of this country off the rails figuratively.  

Freshman U.S. Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio) was part of two letters to federal regulators looking for answers and accountability. The first was a letter he undersigned with U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), to federal Department of Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg. In this letter, Vance and Rubio (who was one of the 6 Republican senators to vote for a bill providing paid sick days for railroad employees in December) press Secretary Buttigieg for descriptions of the DOT’s oversight roll of the railroads and how it plans to prevent incidents like the one in East Palestine going forward. 

  • “In particular, we request information from the U.S. Department of Transportation regarding its oversight of the United States’ freight train system and, more generally, how it balances building a safe, resilient rail industry across our country in relation to building a hyper-efficient one with minimal direct human input.” 
  • “[I]t is not unreasonable to ask whether a crew of two rail workers, plus one trainee, is able to effectively monitor 150 cars. While officials at the department’s Federal Railroad Administration have said that data are inconclusive when it comes to the effects of PSR on rail safety, derailments have reportedly increased in recent years, as has the rate of total accidents or safety-related incidents per track mile. The trade-off for Class I rail companies, of course, has been reduced labor costs, having shed nearly one-third of their workforce.” 
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The second letter from U.S. Sens. Vance, and Sherrod Brown (D) of Ohio and U.S. Sens. Bob Casey (D) and John Fetterman (D) of Pennsylvania was directed toward the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). This bipartisan group was requesting the NTSB look into PSR’s role in this accident and the general reduction in industry safeguards. This letter details the lawmakers’ beliefs that, among other things, PSR’s devaluation of maintenance, staffing and inspections led directly to this environmental catastrophe.  

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SMART-TD has been sounding this same alarm since the onset of PSR, and we are very grateful for the full throated support we are receiving from these senators. Please visit SMART-TD’s Action Network on our website if you would like to contact these men and thank them for their support of our issues.  

The analysts and financial pundits seem to have already spoken, pronouncing that Class I Norfolk Southern (NS) and its shareholders are going to be just fine in the aftermath of the East Palestine, Ohio, derailment. The experts have let us all know that what could turn out to be the largest domestic environmental disaster of our young decade won’t actually be that big of a hit for the Class I carrier.

In an article published Feb. 14 by FreightWaves, the publication stated that it estimates NS will “only” end up spending $40 million to $50 million to cover its liabilities for the derailment. Though this number is substantial when viewed against the backdrop of East Palestine’s $46,436 median household income and $88,600 median property value, the estimated price tag only amounts to 1.7% of the railroad giant’s net profits in 2022.

Based on industry standards for such incidents (this isn’t the first time a railroad disaster has spoiled the environment of a town and surrounding areas), the article estimates that any financial setback to the company and investors as a result of the Feb. 3 disaster will be overcome by May.

“As a rail service is restored, rail shares have historically not seen a material impact from accidents on a three-month horizon.” Ken Hoexter of Bank of America was quoted in the article.

Incidents of the magnitude of what happened in Ohio have the ability to alter the lives of thousands of people who live in communities near rail tracks, yet here, again, we see that they do not serve as much more than a slight dip in the quarterly lap around the corporate speedway to more profits. This is a less than encouraging reality. It begs the question whether there’s any tangible motivator for Norfolk Southern or the other Class I freight railroads to do better than simply mouthing “safety is our top priority” when the financial hit is brushed away like a piece of lint. The residents of the affected area? Well, they have to cope with the stress of homes and property tainted by chemical fallout and the anxiety of not knowing whether there will be long-lasting ramifications to their general physical and mental health as a result of the disaster while the legal wrangling occurs.

As the article in FreightWaves points out, NS had a similar derailment in 2005 in Graniteville, S.C. There, the carrier was found to be liable for 550 people being admitted to hospitals with respiratory issues, and nine deaths due to the release of chlorine. NS paid out $39 million between expenses and penalties. This resulted in a mere 1.7 percent decrease in its operating ratio for a single quarter. The financials of the company, including its stock prices, had entirely recovered by the end of that year, the article said.

While the benefits reaped by carriers seeming “too big to fail” works out just fine for the shareholders, rail labor has to cope with job cuts and compensate at an operational level for the decisions of Class I management. It’s our members who know they are being pushed to operate questionable equipment subject to relaxed safety inspections. Our men and women have front-row seats to watch the hedge fund profit-first mentality that fuels Precision Scheduled Railroading as it rots out our industry. Many workers have had the thought or have said to a manager that cultural shifts away from proper inspections and maintenance were going to create disasters like we saw in East Palestine. It turns out that we were right, but so were they in thinking the PSR playbook is still profitable, even with the occasional disaster baked into the cake. Until these carriers are financially unable to recover so quickly from these catastrophes, they have no reason to increase staffing and get back to a safety-focused culture.

So if history holds, analysts suggest, the temporary price drop in NS stock should actually be viewed as a rebound opportunity. Savvy investors could buy into the company on the cheap now, then reap the rewards when it bounces back. It’s a dark and chilling commentary on an eventual return to business as usual within months of East Palestine’s nightmare. Yet the recovery for the village’s about 4,500 residents will take substantially longer.

Read the article from Freightwaves.com

“From the Ballast” is an open column for SMART Transportation Division rail members to state their perspective on issues related to the railroad industry. Members of the union are encouraged to submit content by emailing to news_TD@smart-union.org. Columns are published at the union’s discretion and may be published in the SMART TD newspaper.

Why is it so hard to hire people into jobs that companies are actively trying to eliminate?

Courtesy morguefile.com.

This seems to be a question that answers itself, yet it remains the paradox that currently defines the railroad industry. Railroad companies all over the United States have two things in common.

First: They are desperate to attract talented workers to the industry to fulfil the needs of a self-created labor shortage.

Second: They are openly requesting permission from the Federal Railroad Administration to eliminate the profession that they want to fill (and have been doing so for quite some time).

It’s not all that difficult to see why the second item makes it almost impossible to achieve the first. Signing bonuses are a wonderful incentive to short-sighted job seekers, but men and women seeking a career path have no incentive to leave their current job to work for a railroad when they are being told their prospective employer is investing millions of R&D dollars and in lobbying with the intent of making their new profession go the way of the dinosaur.

No high-priced ad campaign and no tantalizing signing bonus can make this truth go away. The amount of press coverage that came about in 2022 during national contract negotiations has placed this industry-wide contradiction into a national spotlight.

On December 14th in Washington D.C., Union Pacific unveiled before the FRA, their now-infamous YouTube video that highlights the “advantages” of ground-based expeditors over the time-tested institution of an in-cab freight conductor during a hearing on the two-person crew rulemaking. This video was a wake-up call to many railroaders that the Class I’s were no longer speaking hypothetically about removing conductors from the cab of America’s locomotives. They were actively and aggressively pursuing it.

The logic contained in UP’s propaganda video had more holes in it than can be addressed in one article, but it did bring to the surface one truth; No railroader in their right mind could justify encouraging their kids/nephews/nieces/friends or neighbors to hire out on the rail. When we are fearful of our own jobs, we are 100% not going to be responsible for misleading loved ones into following us down a career path targeted for extinction.

In railroading, there is a common expression about how you can get the word out on any topic, it is “Telephone, Telefax, Tell-a-Railroader.” UP’s video premiered at an FRA hearing with roughly 30 people in attendance and maybe 100 viewers on Zoom, but a bombshell like that was inevitable to be talked about in every crew room and railroad hotel lobby from that day forward.

To all the Class I rail companies looking down the barrel of stagnant head counts, I would tell you this; Your employees used to be the only recruiting tool you needed and that advertising came free of charge. Now you not only do not have that resource to lean on, but you need to up your advertising budget as well as your “hiring incentives” to even come close to getting enough bodies into your training classes. Additionally, conductors are constantly learning the craft of how to be an engineer when they are in the locomotive. There is an added value for the carrier because it works out that they get the benefit of an apprenticeship program without having to put one in place. That will be gone in a scenario where the first time an employee is on the engine, he/she is expected to run it.

This column was written by Daniel Banks, a SMART-TD member for 11 years who is a member of Local 378 in Cleveland, Ohio. He has worked as a conductor and engineer for CSX and now serves members as a public relations representative out of the Independence, Ohio, headquarters.

Union officials, auxiliary members and their spouses as well as rail employees and spouses within five years of retirement are welcome to attend one of a series of Railroad Retirement Board (RRB) pre-retirement seminars.

The spring schedule is as follows:

DateSite
April 28, 2023Courtyard by Marriott, 14635 Baldwin Park Towne Center, Baldwin Park, Calif.
May 05, 2023AJC Federal Building, 1240 E 9th Street, 31st Floor Auditorium, Cleveland, Ohio
May 12, 2023Eugene T. Mahoney State Park, 28500 West Park Hwy., Ashland, Neb.
May 19, 2023US Customs House, 721 19th Street, First Floor Room 181, Denver, Colo.
June 9, 2023Richard Boling Federal Building, 601 E. 12th Street, Room G-64 (Cafe Conference Room), Kansas City, Mo.
June 23, 2023Tinley Park Convention Center, 18451 Convention Center Drive, Tinley Park, Ill.
Spring 2023 Railroad Retirement Board pre-retirement seminar schedule.

While most of the program focuses on various aspects of Railroad Retirement benefits, each seminar closes with a brief presentation on railroad unemployment and sickness benefits to help prepare union officers for sharing reliable information with members.

How to register

Online registration is required to ensure accommodations and materials for all attendees. 

Security screening is required for seminars hosted inside any federal buildings. Bring a current, valid photo ID (issued by state/federal government); no weapons permitted. 

Attendees are encouraged to bring original records (or certified copies) of documents required to file a Railroad Retirement application (such as proof of age, marriage, or military service), along with an additional copy of each item to leave with field service staff. 

Visit RRB.gov/PRS to register.

Select your local seminar from the schedule listed, click the register button, enter your infor­mation, and hit submit.

To RSVP on paper instead: select your local seminar from the schedule listed, find the blank registration form (PDF) to print and complete, then mail or fax it to your local RRB field office. Contact information for each office hosting a seminar is accessible through the Field Office Locator at RRB.gov.

Event details and registration will be available approximately 70 days in advance of each seminar, and registration will be closed for any seminar that reaches capacity.

Please inform RRB if you sign up for a seminar and become unable to attend. 

SMART Transportation Division Alternate National Legislative Director Jared Cassity was a guest of The Rick Smith Show podcast released on Friday night.

In the interview, Smith and Alt. NLD Cassity discussed the Norfolk Southern derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, and the role Precision Scheduled Railroading potentially played in causing it.

The interview clip will not only give insight on the disaster itself, but will help you provide answers when friends and family ask you how this occurred and whether they should be worried about this kind of accident happening on a main line near them.

As we all know, the crown jewel of all U.S. sporting events is the National Football League’s Super Bowl. This weekend, Phoenix, Ariz., hosts Super Bowl LVII featuring the Kansas City Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles. 

SMART-TD Local 113 Vice Local Chairperson Gary Hayes gets a handoff of the official Super Bowl LVII football.
Gary Hayes takes the football out of its protective packaging.
Brother Gary Hayes, vice local chairperson for SMART-TD Local 113 (Winslow, Ariz.) shows off the football he delivered in his role as a member of the Hashknife Pony Express.

SMART Transportation Division’s own Gary Hayes, vice local chairperson of Local 113 (Winslow, Ariz.), played a very special role in making this year’s big game possible. A conductor and engineer for BNSF, Hayes wears many hats. In his case, one of them happens to be a Stetson. 

Hayes has been a member of the Hashknife Pony Express for nine years. This organization carries mail on horseback the 180 miles from Holbrook, Ariz., to Scottsdale, Ariz., in late January or early February every year to culminate with the beginning of the Parada Del Sol Rodeo in Scottsdale — the traditional start to the state’s rodeo season. 

This year, the roughly 30 riders in the Pony Express carried about 20,000 pieces of mail in their three-day run. Unbeknown to the public, these riders had one very special delivery among their haul. The Super Bowl Host Committee had mailed the official Super Bowl LVII football to be hand-delivered to them in Scottsdale. 

When they arrived to the Museum of the West in Scottsdale on the third day of their ride, Brother Hayes was chosen by the captain of the Pony Express to do the honors of delivering the football to Jay Parry, CEO of the Super Bowl Host Committee. 

“This 180-mile special delivery was a little different than my normal run from Winslow, Ariz., to Belen, N.M., but I got it there on time,” Hayes said. 

SMART-TD would like to congratulate Brother Hayes for his recognition, and though he was preparing for a train when we got to talk to him on Saturday, we hope that he has a quick tour of duty so he can get back home in time to watch the game that he helped make possible!

For more information on this story, and on the Hashknife Pony Express itself, please visit the organization’s website via the link below. 

SMART Transportation Division President Jeremy Ferguson and Adam West, secretary and treasurer of SMART-TD Local 744 in Lafayette, Ind., served as speakers during a press conference Feb. 9 demanding that rail companies provide seven days of paid sick leave to workers organized by U.S. Sens. Bernie Sanders and Mike Braun.

Both senators were among a majority that supported a sick leave measure in December that was blocked by filibuster.

“We are here today to send a very strong message to the CEOs in the rail industry, and that is that the American people are sick and tired of the type of corporate greed we are seeing in that industry,” Sanders, a Vermont independent who spearheaded support for a bill guaranteeing paid sick time. “At a time of record-breaking profits, that industry can and must guarantee at least seven paid sick days to every rail worker in America. In the year 2023, that’s not a whole lot to ask.”

Indiana Republican Sen. Braun framed it as a moral, correct and common-sense choice for business owners to take care of employees, treat them like family and help in worker retention.

“When I heard you didn’t have a guaranteed sick day, I wondered how could you get by with that in this day and age? You don’t know when you’re going to get sick,” Braun said. “It’s going to be an issue on keeping employees long-term.”

“Most of this stuff should be natural, and if you do it, it’s in the best interest of your company, long term.”

Local 744’s Adam West speaks at the press conference on Capitol Hill on Feb. 9.

Adam West of Local 744, the S&T out of Lafayette, Ind., and a 18-year conductor/engineer, stated the situation for workers in the operating crafts very plainly.

“When they get sick, they have to make a decision,” between working sick or facing the attendance policy of their carrier,” West said. “You are not going to get the preventive health care you need to stay healthy.”

President Ferguson thanked both senators for their ongoing support during last year’s contract impasse.

“This is a fight that needs to continue, and it is a challenge for all of us union leaders with the railroads, both freight and passenger because historically nobody has had paid sick leave,” President Ferguson said.

SMART-TD President Jeremy Ferguson addresses the press conference about paid rail labor sick time on Feb. 9.

Six Class I railroads last year spent $20 billion (not including CSX) on buybacks and dividends — $5 billion more than pay and benefits for the entire rail workforce, Sanders said. Plus, rail CEOs made $175 million in three years in a period after cutting 30 percent of its workforce while they implemented Precision Scheduled Railroading.

“They are doing extremely well and what did they do with those record-breaking profits? Did they spend it on making the rail industry safer? No they did not do that.  Did they spend that money on improving the horrendous working conditions today in the rail industry? No they didn’t do that,” Sanders said.

Watch highlights from the press conference in episode six of SMART News.

Harsh attendance policies put in place to force workers to do more with less, a key component of Precision Scheduled Railroad remain intact and have not yet been dismantled.

“Everybody’s seen how difficult it was for our operating employees to have scheduled days off, period,” President Ferguson said. “That is what we’re up against, so to continue now that the national contract dispute behind us, to see thatenergy still coming from our senators, still behind rail labor, not forgetting how bad it was last year … we are very, very thankful for that.”  

“People around the countries are seeing what these workers have to go through. We surely will bring legislation to the floor.”

Sanders, chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, sent a letter Feb. 8 to the CEOs of six Class I rail CEOs urging them to follow the lead of CSX, which made inroads to providing paid sick time to a limited group of 5,000 workers. The White House and DOT are also involved in ongoing talks with rail executives.

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“I have news for executives in the rail industry,” Sanders said. “If they think that those of us in Congress who voted for seven paid sick days for workers are going to forget this issue, they got it wrong.”

Also speaking was President Greg Regan of the Transportation Trades Department, AFL-CIO, BMWED President Tony Cardwell, BRS Vice President Doug VanderJagt, BLET Vice President Vince Verna, and National Association of Chemical Distributors President Eric Byer.

WASHINGTON, Feb. 7 – SMART Transportation Division leadership as well as officers from the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen, the Brotherhood of Railroad Signalmen, the Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employes and the AFL-CIO Transportation Trades Department will join U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), chairman of the Senate’s Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, and U.S. Sen. Mike Braun (R-Ind.) at 1:30 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 9, to demand companies provide rail workers with at least seven paid sick days.

U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders addresses a Rail Solidarity rally organized by SMART-TD on Capitol Hill in December.

Sanders led the effort late last year to pass an amendment to guarantee paid sick days to rail workers. The amendment, which passed the House but failed in the Senate, received the votes of every Senate Democrat but one, as well as six Republicans. Braun voted for the amendment.

Sanders also appeared at a Washington, D.C. solidarity rally attended by members of the SMART-TD, other rail labor groups and supporters.

Following the vote, Sanders and more than 70 of his colleagues sent a letter to President Biden urging his administration to take action to guarantee paid sick days for rail workers.

The press conference comes as rail companies announce record earnings during quarterly earnings calls. Last year, the top railroads made over $26 billion in profits and paid their wealthy shareholders over $25 billion in stock buybacks and dividends. They spent 184 percent more on returns to their shareholders than what they spent on their workers’ wages and benefits. Guaranteeing seven paid sick days to rail workers would cost the industry just $321 million dollars – less than 1.2 percent of profits in a single year. Rail companies have eliminated 30 percent of their workforce over the last six years.

A representative from the the National Association of Chemical Distributors also is scheduled to appear.


What: Sanders and Braun Hold Press Conference with Rail Workers
When: Thursday, Feb. 9, 1:30 p.m. ET
Where: Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, 430 Dirksen Senate Office Building
Note: The event will also be livestreamed at www.twitter.com/SenSanders and https://www.facebook.com/senatorsanders

Those wishing to contribute donations to the community of East Palestine, Ohio, due to the major Norfolk Southern derailment Friday are urged to pitch in to assist evacuees of the village near the Ohio-Pennsylvania border.

The NTSB will be the lead agency for providing updates on the incident. They’ve established a Family Assistance Center to address the needs of the community and support those directly impacted.

A charred rail car is seen at the site of the East Palestine, Ohio, in this photo taken Sunday by the SMART-TD Public Relations Department.
Smoke rises from tanker cars at the site of the Norfolk Southern derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, in this photo taken Sunday by the SMART-TD Public Relations Department.

“The community needs all the help they can get,” SMART Transportation Division Ohio State Legislative Director Clyde Whitaker said. “These are citizens of our state, our neighbors and they need some help. Let’s show everyone what we can do.”

Here are the various community outreach programs available:

Brightside Project, 483 E Pershing St. Salem OH Phone: 234-320-4005 is offering food and personal care products from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Feb 7-9.

First United Methodist Church, 244 S. Broadway, Salem, OH Phone: 330-337-9351 is distributing clothes 9 a.m.-noon.

The Way Station is offering food, personal care products, diapers and clothing. Collection times at 769 Springfield Rd, Columbiana OH are 10 a.m.- 4 p.m. Monday – Friday. And from 9 a.m. – 2 p.m. at 125 W. 5th St., East Liverpool.

Donations of non-perishable food items and personal care products can be dropped off at either location during the hours listed.

Angels for Animals is providing assistance with pet care — 330-502-5352

Norfolk Southern has opened a family assistance center that has set up at the Abundant Life Fellowship Church in New Waterford 46469 Route 46, New Waterford, OH.

Greg Hynes, SMART-TD national legislative director

It’s difficult to imagine trying to pass off reducing the braking power of a freight train as a safety precaution, but that is exactly what BNSF attempted to do recently in a request to the FRA for a variance to increase the allowable amount of flow from 90 CFM to 120 CFM.

In their request, BNSF states that in order to reduce the slip/trip/fall risk that goes along with conductors and carmen walking a consist looking for leaks in a brake line, that they think it’s safer to depart the train with up to 120 CFM of flow and assume it will be able to stop when it has to.

FRA put out a Notice of Proposed Rule Making (NPRM) requesting public comments on BNSF’s request, and SMART-TD’s National Legislative Department was happy to oblige them. Below you can read SMART-TD’s response to FRA from Brother Greg Hynes, SMART-TD’s national legislative director.

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