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The 2024 calendar lists Monday, April 22, as Earth Day, but with the groundbreaking ceremony in Las Vegas, Nevada, for what will become 218 miles of new high-speed rail line, SMART Transportation Division and the rest of rail labor can see today as Jobs Day!

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg speaks during the groundbreaking of Brightline West.
The audience watched the Brightline West groundbreaking event in Las Vegas.
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and others attend Brightline West’s groundbreaking ceremony.

Brightline West broke ground on a state-of-the-art high-speed rail line today that will link Southern California with Las Vegas. The line will run from the southern end of the famous strip in Las Vegas and run to Rancho Cucamonga, California, just outside of Los Angeles.

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and others participate in the ground-breaking ceremony for Brightline West in Las Vegas.

This rail line will run with a fleet of electric locomotives, so there are obvious benefits to the environment, but the most important thing for the SMART-TD is that Brightline West is partnering with our union to staff their trains. As of today, rail labor is getting an immediate shot in the arm by this project. Thousands of jobs in multiple crafts will be created by the building and maintaining of these lines.

The United States has long been the only industrialized country without viable high-speed rail service and the completion of Brightline West would end that.

A large portion of the funding for this project came from the Biden administration through the bipartisan infrastructure legislation commonly referred to as the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.

As a stipulation of receiving the federal dollars, it was agreed that Brightline West would use an entirely union workforce to build the infrastructure and to staff the trains, putting other union brothers and sisters, as well as our members, to work. With trains planned to originate every 30 minutes in both directions, there will be a significant amount of SMART-TD jobs gained in this project.

SMART-TD’s National Legislative Director Greg Hynes and SMART Rail-Mechanical Department Director Peter Kennedy were at the groundbreaking ceremony today as was U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg. This project is scheduled to be ready for passenger service in 2028. The trains will travel up to 200 miles per hour and will get people between Los Angeles and Las Vegas in about two hours — less than half the time it currently takes to drive between the two cities.

SMART-TD’s Alternate National Legislative Director Jared Cassity was featured on an episode of America’s Workforce Union Podcast, covering a wide range of rail industry topics including the hostile takeover attempt at Norfolk Southern, the FRA’s 2PC ruling, the Railway Safety Act to East Palestine, Ohio, and beyond.

LISTEN HERE

“Safety does cost some money sometimes — but [the railroads are] still making billions of dollars in each quarter. There’s no rationale to cut the safety aspect out of it,” Cassity told host Ed “Flash” Ferencz. “They make money despite themselves.”

Alternate National Legislative Director Jared Cassity addresses a rail labor solidarity rally on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., in December 2022 on the day before the FRA’s hearing on the two-person crew rule.

Cassity continues, “so their interest isn’t really in preventing accidents. [They ask] is it cheaper to make all these changes to prevent it, or is it cheaper to clean it up? And if you look at Norfolk Southern, if you look at this policy and you look at what Chairwoman Jennifer Homendy of the NTSB just said, blowing up those cars [in East Palestine] didn’t have to happen. The railroad chose to take the fastest, easiest course. It’s not about safety. It’s about the bottom line.”

“So the Rail Safety Act is working to fix that. This is a perfect example of why elections matter.”

“The crews aren’t always aware of what is going on with their trains. Like in East Palestine, there were defects that were actually happening as they were going down the rail and making their trip. In your car, the check engine light comes on to tell you there’s a problem, that wasn’t happening for the crews. What was happening is that the notification was going to some backroom with a manager sitting in Atlanta, Georgia, and then they were making the decision of whether or not to tell the crew if they should stop the train. And it’s just a completely bonkers notion of how you run that.”

“And for them to say that there’s no safety data or anything of that nature is not true, because everything that we have today is because of the two-person crew. But the unfortunate reality of this is all of the success stories, all of the accidents that are prevented, all of the things that didn’t happen because of the second person in the crew is not recorded or captured or reported in any capacity by the railroads to anyone.”

Brother Cassity is an authority on rail safety. He came from the craft working as a conductor and engineer out of the Russell, Kentucky, crew base for CSX. A longtime member of the National Safety Team before leading it, Cassity participates in federal investigations of rail safety mishaps. When national media outlets want to discuss safety regulations on America’s railroads, Brother Cassity is consistently at the top of their lists.

SMART-TD wants to thank Brother Cassity for a job well done, amplifying our concerns and discussing our victories with a nationwide audience.

Working on the railroad is a very accurate metaphor for life. Nothing is predictable; everything is earned rather than given. When something breaks down, it’s on each of us to fix it by ourselves, no matter what.

The way we feel walking a train in the middle of nowhere at 3 a.m., two miles from the head end, armed with nothing but a lantern, is similar to the way we feel when we realize that our streak broke in the hotel. We aren’t going to be off for the 48 hours we thought we were. Those plans we had with our family are in jeopardy — we won’t get to our kid’s concert or wrestling match like we promised without a miracle.

We feel alone.

In these moments, we need to remember that we are not alone. Much like a wrestler standing on the mat facing down an opponent, we might be by ourselves, but we have a team supporting us. Railroaders are alone on the job, but we are alone together. This is the foundation of our union.

 When you walk that train in the 3 a.m. darkness, your lantern is with you. You can use your lantern to get the information you need to do your job well, like to see car numbers in the pitch-black darkness or shed light on a mechanical issue. It is invaluable in keeping you safe by lighting the way when you are trying not to step in the wrong place and fall down an embankment into an icy creek. Sometimes, your lantern proves to be a serviceable tool when you have a stuck handbrake on an auto rack and you need to extend your reach. When it really hits the fan, that lantern is the only weapon you have to fight off coyotes or transients.

SMART-TD is also with you to light your path, extend your reach, and help ward off harm. Carry your union, and your union will carry you. Our union provides educational tools through regional training and SMART University. The support staff provides the information we need to be successful in our railroad careers. Our local chairs are there with us during investigations, ensuring we don’t say the wrong thing and go sliding down the ballast into that icy creek of discipline points and lost wages.

 When there is a problem with local managers, our general committees and chairs extend our reach. They smack down contract violations or unfair disciplinary actions, just like our lanterns smack that stuck brake in just the right spot to let the slack come out of the chain.

When the railroads send their lawyers and lobbyists to claw back our benefits or jeopardize our careers, the international becomes that lantern we swing and hit them right between the eyes.

Much like our lanterns, this union cannot run without energy. Our lanterns are at their best when we are vigilant about making sure the battery is charged. It’s no help if, in the darkness, you don’t hit that button to turn it on. SMART-TD is ready to be of service. If we don’t turn it on, don’t know how it can be used, or forget to bring it with us, it won’t do any good. With the “walking conditions” we are all faced with right now, our lantern is more important to us than ever.

We all get busy and sometimes forget to keep our lanterns charged. I haven’t been to as many local meetings as I should have. I haven’t reread my contract for way too long. That’s on me. The union has always been there for me when I needed it, and I’m going to do the same for SMART-TD.

If you’ve been distant and haven’t checked in lately, please reengage and start coming to local meetings. Get comfortable knowing the ins and outs of our agreement, so these railroads can’t take advantage of us or our families. Find a SMART-TD Regional Training Seminar to attend that sharpens your skills and adds a few watts to that lantern in your hand. Get the energy flowing and report when things concerning safety or technology aren’t right and file claims if management is abusing your time.

As far as keeping the battery charged, now is a great time to consider becoming a contributor to SMART-TD’s Political Action Committee. If you think the progress we’ve made in 2PC and elsewhere isn’t a direct result of the efforts by SMART-TD’s state and national legislative efforts funded by PAC, you are lying to yourself. But just like your lantern after a 12-hour shift, SMART-TD PAC’s battery is running low after this fight.

So please take a few minutes to jump on the SMART app or talk to your local officers to get signed up for PAC. We all know the railroads well enough to say that the 2PC fight isn’t over. They always have another trick up their sleeve. For now, the train is back together, and the air is getting to the rear, but we’re all qualified on this territory. We know the recrew hasn’t been ordered. We know we’re going to have to put this pig away when we get it to the other end. It’s time to break out that extra battery for that lantern because there is still work to be done.

Railroad history was made the first week of April 2024. The U.S. Department of Transportation issued a final rule stating that freight trains in this country cannot be safely run with fewer than two certified railroaders in a locomotive cab.

History could not have been made without you. SMART-TD has been leading this fight for more than two decades. The FRA received over 13,000 public comments on this rule. Only 64 of those were against it. That is an amazing, concerted effort on the part of our members and allies that shows the power of solidarity. YOU beat the railroad executives and their deep pockets. It wasn’t even close.

The rule was announced by Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and Federal Railroad Administrator Amit Bose on behalf of the Biden administration. SMART-TD President Jeremy Ferguson then spoke of the efforts of rail families, concerned members of the public and, most importantly, the experiences of our union members inside the rail cab.

The quality of what you wrote, not just the raw number of responses, is what truly moved the needle. Your personal experiences opened the eyes of the FRA to the lives that were saved and the potential disasters averted by the presence of a second person in the cab. Your experiences could not be denied. Thank you, from your union brothers and sisters, and on behalf of every American who lives, works or plays near a set of tracks.

We also would like to thank Wes Ekstedt, out of Local 445 in Galesburg, Illinois, who formed the “Fight For 2-Person Crews” Facebook page and website. Justin Wolters, from Local 1381 and general chairperson of the Indiana Harbor Belt Railroad, and Nick Greficz, local chairperson from Local 278, were among the leaders of a page called “We the Union” that helped coalesce union efforts.

These leaders never missed an opportunity to advocate to the public and protect safety. They helped create a movement.

It is no secret that the 2PC effort helped unite all 12 rail labor organizations under the umbrella of the Transportation Trades Department of the AFL-CIO. The message was also echoed by our friends in other labor unions outside of the rail industry. The rule announcement was introduced by David Hoagland, President of the District of Columbia Fire Fighters Association. Experienced first responders know who to rely on when there is a rail-related accident. The International Association of Fire Fighters strongly advocated for this ruling, and we express gratitude for their assistance.

Thanks also to The National League of Cities who provided unwavering support and advocacy for safe rail operations in our country.

SMART-TD Auxiliary President Kathryn Seegmiller and Secretary and Treasurer Denise “Niki” Wallace do amazing work advocating for this and many other legislative movements. On the issue of 2PC, they raised awareness and coordinated action through many routes, including text message campaigns to members to bolster both national level and state legislation.

It would be remiss not to thank the state legislative directors in every state who have pushed for 2PC legislation. As we all know and have celebrated, 12 states achieved the governor’s signature on legislation or had regulations on minimum crew size on the books before the FRA’s historic announcement. Unquestionably, whether a bill passed or not, the efforts made in the state houses were instrumental in the national push.  Every time one of our SLDs presented legislation on the matter, it created public discussion and awareness of the critical role conductors play in protecting their communities. For all the state directors who fought the good fight for rail safety, we thank you and congratulate you on winning the war.

All in all, there are too many people to thank to have any hope of mentioning everyone. Our union is stronger than ever, the community we have built around us is active and engaged, and together we put the rail bosses on notice.  We are watching, and we will use our collective strength to protect public and worker safety however inconvenient that becomes for the profit-at-all-cost railroads and their owners.

We thank all of our members and advocates for everything they did to bring the fight this far.  Your efforts have been seen, and we have seen the results, but there is work left to do. Every new administration brings the risk of new regulations. We need to protect the progress that we have made. Now that the FRA’s 2PC rule is a reality it is time to focus on passing the Railway Safety Act.

Luther Peyton “Pate” King Jr., who served the SMART Transportation Division on the local, state and national levels for more than three decades, passed away Friday, March 22, 2024, at age 80.

Brother “Pate” King served as an officer, including stints as a general chairperson and an alternate vice president for the SMART-TD’s predecessor union, the UTU, for the better part of four decades.

Brother King joined our union as a member of the Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen on Jan. 1, 1968. Just one year later, he became a local officer, being elected as secretary & treasurer of Local 1172 in Mullens, W. Va. He served as a convention delegate from 1975 to 2014 before his retirement on Halloween 2014.

“The passing of Brother King is weighing hard on his former committee GO 680,” wrote General Chairperson David Phillips. “However, as we reflect on his time of 37 years as general chairman and 50-year railroad career, we celebrate his contributions.”

Brother King was signatory to two crew-consist agreements in 1984 and 1991, served twice as a representative on the union’s national railroad negotiating team and countless on-property memorandum agreements.

And while his negotiating skills were highly regarded, even those paled to his incomparable ability to argue before a Public Law Board.

“He was so good that an engineer who was charged with a stop-signal violation and was a member of another organization said if Pate would represent him, he would change his membership to the UTU — now SMART-TD,” Phillips said. “Brother King took the NEW member’s claim to a PLB and won the case with back pay and the member remained a SMART-TD member for the rest of his career.”

Phillips and retired former Vice President Doyle Turner both were present when Brother King unleashed his uncanny ability to make an argument from his memory the likes they had never seen.

“At Pate’s last PLB, we witnessed him go paperless and win what seemed unwinnable cases,” Phillips said. “In fact, in one case on a rebuttal after the carrier’s argument, Brother King said there was one word to sum up the carrier’s argument — ‘bulls—.’ “

Phillips said he and Turner then watched King give a 10-minute rebuttal without notes or even a pen and paper that eventually prevailed with the arbitrator returning the employee back to work.

Officers contemporary to Brother King described him as an exemplary credit to the union.

“A real warrior has found rest,” retired former UTU President Mike Futhey said.

“His knowledge and understanding of union matters and dealing with carrier were unmatched,” said former Vice President Delbert Strunk, who served with Brother King for 30 years as a union officer.

“He might have been small in frame, but was a giant among men,” said retired Vice President Troy Johnson. “Everyone respected him, especially me.”

GC Phillips said that Brother Pate King’s legacy of service to the members will endure in his general committee.

“To Brother King’s wife and family, our prayers and thoughts are with you, and we are so sorry for your loss,” GC Phillips wrote. “Remember that the impact of Pate will for generations be felt for rail labor of which Pate dedicated his life to as we all well know.”

A service is scheduled April 16 at The First Presbyterian Church of Mullens, 1024 Howard Ave. Visitation is scheduled from 1-2 p.m. with services following. In lieu of flowers, contributions can be made to Hospice of Southern West Virginia, P.O. Box 1472, Beckley, WV 25802-1472 or to The First Presbyterian Church of Mullens.

“I would encourage that ALL SMART-TD officers and members to make every effort to attend Brother King’s memorial service,” Phillips said. “A strong showing will show the family of Brother King our appreciation of having an officer and member the caliber of Brother King.”

Phillips expressed his appreciation to Local 1172’s Mark Workman for his outreach to the family in this time of loss.

The SMART Transportation Division expresses its sincere condolences to Brother King’s family and friends. His contributions to the union will not be forgotten.

Read the family’s obituary.

Genesee and Wyoming (G&W) railroad, the parent of the Heart of Georgia Railroad and Georgia Central Railway, and their partner, Parallel Systems Inc., are attempting to begin testing fully autonomous train cars. Their experimental, self-propelled container cars pose many problems and, if successful, will threaten many union-protected jobs.

SMART-TD shared our concerns at their first hearing and will explain our position to the FRA by filing a public comment. We encourage you to follow this link and submit a comment of your own about the attempt to run fully automated containers.

The comments are due April 1 and are open to the public.

WHAT ARE AUTOMATED CONTAINERS?

Parallel Systems, founded by former SpaceX personnel, has a prototype of a self-driving container car, which SMART-TD and our partners have seen in action. The cars don’t have couplers. Instead, each has a battery, motors and radio-connected computer that allows individual freight cars to move wherever they need to go. Their goal is to eventually eliminate engines, yards and conductors entirely.

See Parallel Systems’ vision

Strong resistance at the first hearing

Our union’s testimony left little doubt that this concept is nowhere near ready for a real-world setting. SMART-TD Alternate National Legislative Director Jared Cassity’s testimony opened many eyes and landed with the members of the FRA technical committee. Even representatives of G&W and Parallel Systems began to see the error of their ways.

ANLD Cassity pointed out multiple examples where these crewless vehicles fail to meet federal regulations, which enforce well-established safety and industry standards. If Parallel expected a warm reception for their new shiny thing, they were sadly mistaken.

Cassity made it very clear that this project and testing it on live tracks was detrimental to the safety of every rail professional in the area and drastically compounds risk to the community.

G&W, FRA play a waiting game at hearing

This hearing, held in a community center in the Atlanta area, was attended by SMART-TD, the AFL-CIO’s Transportation Trades Department (TTD), and other rail unions. While scheduled to run until 5 p.m., both G&W and FRA representatives thanked everyone and told labor we got an early quit. As long as the meeting was technically open, and the Zoom “recording” button was still flashing, we weren’t going anywhere. The room emptied over several minutes. SMART-TD, the TTD and other labor groups remained. After many silent minutes, the CEO of G&W began reading a rebuttal to Cassity and the other unions’ objections.

Clearly wounded, G&W went on record claiming that the new technology wasn’t as bad as our facts made it out to be.

It would have been funny if it wasn’t so sad.

Get ready for a fight

We also learned that the FRA has already scheduled a meeting to announce its decision on April 18th. SMART-TD has a couple of problems with this announcement. Written public comments are not due until the close of business April 1, this seems like a lightning quick turnaround to announce a decision.

The public comment period for 2PC regulations ended in December 2022, and we have not been given a final decision on that matter in March 2024!  Important issues should take time to decide.

Animated graphic by the SMART Transportation Division

Autonomous freight cars would upend everything we know about the railroad industry, but the FRA is going to make a decision a little more than two weeks after the deadline for public comment. Has the outcome of this hearing and public-comment period already been determined through a backroom deal? Not on our watch.

The FRA has worked closely with our union on almost every topic involving rail since 2021. Why did we find out about this highly important meeting, announcing a potentially monumental shift in our industry, only by lurking in a public meeting after they told us it was time to leave?  That is not how the agency has operated since President Biden appointed Administrator Amit Bose.

SMART-TD is on alert to this new threat — follow this link and tell the FRA your opinion of G&W’s intention to run fully automated container cars on our rails.

Investigative journalist Topher Sanders released a report on ProPublica today where he reveals how multiple injuries and fatalities were swept under the rug by Class I carriers BNSF, Union Pacific, CSX and Norfolk Southern. The article goes into detail on stories common to us in the industry. Jared Cassity, SMART-TD Alternate National Legislative Director, helped shine a public spotlight on this critical issue.

Read What’s Missing From Railroad Safety Data? Dead Workers and Severed Limbs on ProPublica

Brother Cassity is a nationally recognized expert on railroad safety and a leader of SMART-TD’s National Safety Team (NST). He does not sugarcoat his responses, especially when it comes to the well-being of our members.

“The system is rigged, especially when it comes to injuries. You see what they want you to see,” Cassity said in the article. ProPublica found that carriers pick and choose what injuries they report so that they can boast about their safety records.

As the largest rail union in the nation, SMART-TD is an established authority for rail-related issues. Brother Cassity’s efforts reflect our union’s commitment to safeguard members, have our hardships recognized and to force the railroads to improve conditions for those who keep our economy moving.

Please take a moment to read this article and share it with friends and family on your social media accounts. Widespread understanding of the industry’s culture of corruption is the best weapon we all have to combat it.

As the clock was running out for him to act Friday night, Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin decided he was against public safety, common sense and protecting Virginia railroad workers’ jobs and pensions. He vetoed a bill that required a minimum two-person crew on Virginia’s freight trains. Fortunately, the clock is also running out on his term as Governor.

An irresponsible choice

Both a certified conductor and an engineer are required to safely operate a long train responsibly, although railroads would like to find ways to eliminate one or both positions over time. SMART-TD is fighting to protect responsible crew sizes across the United States. Conductors are often the first people on site when there is an accident or derailment, and they often monitor the track or train while the engineer operates the engine. A two-person job requires a two-person crew (2PC).

 As the rhetoric heats up this election year, conductors and other SMART-TD members are putting practical results ahead of their political party. Transportation workers throughout the country are watching to determine whether a politician is with us, or against us.

Rather than keeping his constituents safe and his state’s economy running, Youngkin placed more value in big business and the campaign dollars railroads can deposit in his political piggybank.

Make no mistake: Gov. Youngkin and those who chose not to support the two-person crew bill in Virginia are acting AGAINST us!

It’s not about party

In recent years, SMART-TD Virginia State Legislative Director (SLD) Ronnie Hobbs has worked with legislators along the political spectrum to advance our 2PC bill. Brother Hobbs and his team got 2PC (Senate Bill 143) through both chambers and the joint conference committee. Regrettably, Youngkin decided to reject the work of both parties when he used his veto power to reward railroad shareholders when he should have protected his citizens.

“I want to thank all of the legislators in this state for the time they took to learn about the role of freight conductors in Virginia,” Hobbs said. “We have found so many great partners and allies in this process of making the case for 2PC. I want to thank Delegate Shelly Simonds and Senator Jennifer Carroll Foy for sponsoring our legislation and championing our members’ cause from beginning to end. Most importantly, I’d like to thank them for their continued interest in our cause, which goes beyond this ill-advised veto.”

The fight for Virginia crews continues in 2025

Though disappointed, Hobbs and his powerful team of Virginia allies are still in the fight, with an eye on the 2025 election.

Abigail Spanberger, a member of Congress, is running for governor. Spanberger has sponsored federal action on 2PC in every legislative session since 2018, proving she is interested in our issues and sees value in our work. Spanberger’s ACTIONS demonstrate that she is 100% with us in our pursuit of a minimum crew size.

“I want to personally thank every member of SMART here in Virginia, who took the time and effort to contact their legislators and come to the hearings,” Hobbs said. “The tremendous effort made by you and your friends/family was noticed, and you were heard. Unfortunately, Gov. Youngkin was too busy listening to Wall Street to pay attention.”

More help will be needed in 2025 and beyond. With Youngkin’s departure, Spanberger in the governorship and the Virginia members rallying support in the Legislature, Virginia will join our growing number of 2PC states. When we win enough states, SMART-TD will have won the nation.

Visit the Legislative Action Center to tell your member of Congress to back the REEF Act

The SMART Transportation Division is one step closer to closing a federal loophole that has been taking money away from railroaders who are out of work due to furlough, sickness, or injury.

An out-of-date federal statute has allowed the government to enforce a unique form of tax that takes $50 per pay half out of the pockets of railroad employees who are collecting unemployment or short-term sickness benefits from the Railroad Retirement Board (RRB). 

SMART-TD, along with bipartisan support in Congress led by Nebraska Sen. Deb Fischer and Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown, has been pushing for legislation to end this predatory practice affecting our most-vulnerable brothers and sisters.

The efforts of our National Legislative team of Director Greg Hynes and Alternate National Director Jarred Cassity made noteworthy progress last week. The bill to end this tax on our out-of-work members is called the Railroad Employee Equity and Fairness (REEF) Act.

The REEF Act passed through the U.S. Senate’s Budget Committee and is headed to the floor to be considered and voted on by the entire body.

SMART-TD will keep you up to date with the bill’s progress as it makes its way through the Senate and to the House of Representatives.

For more information on this bill and the Budget Committee vote, follow this link to the press release put out by Senator Sherrod Brown’s office or this notice from the AFL-CIO Transportation Trades Department.

Surface Transportation Board Chairman Martin Oberman has seen some rail carriers cut jobs and neglect their infrastructure in pursuit of short-term profit, and he says there’s nothing to like about it.

Oberman spoke last week before the Southeast Association of Rail Shippers’ conference, and the “cult of the operating ratio” (OR) could be rising again with BNSF and Union Pacific cutting workers and a hedge fund looking to seize Norfolk Southern.

“These low OR — which could only be achieved rapidly — as the activists demanded — by cutting payroll — have meant lots of free cash which the Class Is have not been shy about paying out in stock buybacks, dividends, and in BNSF’s case, returns to its owner,” Oberman said. “The total in the last decade or so is over $250 billion — money which was not invested in retaining workers or building new infrastructure to increase a railroad’s reach and serve more customers.”

Billionaire Warren Buffett said as much in his recent letter to shareholders, expressing disappointment in BNSF’s latest returns. Union Pacific ousted a CEO in 2023 and the new one is doubling down on squeezing workers in the name of shareholder return.

SMART-TD members and rail workers have been coping with the consequences through job cuts, irresponsibly long trains and inhumane work schedules. For our members, “PSR” stands for “punishing and sadistic railroading.”

Starting in about 2014, more than 45,000 rail workers lost their jobs because of the quest for increased efficiency.

“Railroads are a regulated monopoly. They have a common carrier obligation to the public interest and to the nation’s economy,” Oberman said. “Unlike other businesses, railroad management and owners are not just free to manipulate the business by draining the company’s resources for short-term gain.”

Too often, the pro-free market crowd, overseeing spreadsheets from the comfort of their railroad offices, think that “free market” means “we can run our business however we want and do to workers and the communities we affect whatever we want. We’re here to make money, and they should be happy about it. They’re lucky we’re here.”

That mentality’s brought longer trains, fewer inspections and less emphasis on safety, as much as industry executives and mouthpieces like the Association of American Railroads and Railway Age claim the railroads are working in everyone’s best interests. PSR is only good for everyone who owns stock.

The industry’s shareholders cruised through the initial wave of PSR with fatter wallets and bigger dividends, Oberman noted in his speech. Contrast that with the thousands of workers who were sent home for the last time as service to their former customers suffered.

Investor neglect drew attention of federal regulators, including Oberman’s STB, after a post-COVID national supply chain meltdown. The STB held hearings on carrier performance in 2022 and has kept a close eye on carrier personnel levels since.

Recent events indicate carrier leadership is being guided back to its shortsighted ways. Investors demand quick profits at the exclusion of all else. Hundreds of jobs have been cut from BNSF and Union Pacific over the past weeks and months.

So when leaders such as Oberman and Federal Railroad Administrator Amit Bose decide to oversee the industry through a more skeptical lens, along with the workers and the members of the media, those folks in the comfortable offices get less comfortable.

Oberman also expressed his doubts about activist investor group Ancora’s plan to replace Norfolk Southern’s leadership with a who’s who of exploitative executives.

“Several weeks ago, Ancora wrote me a letter. The essence of their message was that they had taken a $1 billion dollar stake in NS in order for it — quote — ‘to become a safer railroad,’ ” Oberman said. “Really? What hedge fund raises $1 billion to promote safety anywhere? The measure of Ancora’s disingenuous pitch to improve safety is that its slide deck completely omits reference to FRA data which shows that, in the last year, NS has been an industry leader in reducing mainline rail accidents and derailments.”

SMART-TD members —  the people who do the work — have lived through PSR. Oberman has gone through PSR, as has Bose. It was a failure for workers, shippers and catastrophic for the national supply chain. It’s not wanted by anyone or good for anyone except for those who would reap the most by doing the least.

The watchdogs of the industry — Oberman, Bose and SMART-TD — all recognize this. We do not want to go through it again.

UP and BNSF executives — you’ll need to get to work, because PSR doesn’t.

Read Oberman’s speech