Tag: rail safety

Home>News>rail safety

Deputy National Safety and Legislative Director Jared Cassity issued a stark reminder of the stakes we face as union members.

“Sitting in D.C., I watch how the politics affects this country. Our issues are not political. Our issues are not Republican. They’re not Democratic. They’re either right or they’re wrong.

“In this [union], there are no political adversaries … in this union, our issues are our issues, and they are worth fighting for. There is not a single person in this room that cannot sympathize or empathize or understand that no one deserves to wake up in the morning and wonder, is today going to be the day that I’m verbally assaulted while I’m doing my job?

I“s someone going to lay hands on me, spit on me, piss on me, stab me, shoot me? None of you are going to stand by that. Every single one of you will fight for that.

“No one should deserve to wake up and wonder “is today the day that my carrier is going to fail to provide me a safe workspace? Is today the day that I lose limbs? That I suffer a career or life altering injury? Is today the day that I don’t make it home?

“That’s not Republican. That’s not Democrat. That is union. And all of you should stand united when we talk about these issues. Do not let someone else drive a wedge between you. We move forward together.

“We move forward as a union. We have got to fight, and that’s what we’re going to do.”

Cassity’s rallying cry is essential for all SMART-TD members to hear and understand. Our lives and livelihoods require us to rise above partisan politics to protect our collective power. 

Cassity delivered his remarks during his acceptance speech at the SMART-TD convention on August 11, 2024.

In March, mere weeks before the Federal Railroad Administration announced its federal two-person crew regulation, 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.

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 political party. Transportation workers throughout the country are watching to determine whether a politician is with us, or against us.

Rather than keep 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.

SMART railroaders with Va. delegate Shelly Simonds, a two-person crew supporter.

“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 two-person 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 in the Old Dominion.

“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.”

The SMART Transportation Division began a new era in rail safety and worker protection by working with Norfolk Southern to accept and act on anonymous safety reports.

How It Works

The one-year pilot program, called the Confidential Close Call Reporting System (C3RS), is similar to one that airline personnel use to hold their airlines accountable. Rail workers will share safety concerns through a secure website. NASA, acting as an independent party, will organize, anonymize and share the reports with the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA). Under FRA guidance, improvements will be made by a joint committee including SMART-TD and other rail labor representatives, as well as Norfolk Southern management.

A Long Time Coming

C3RS first came to the rail industry in 2007, when SMART-TD predecessor United Transportation Union (UTU) and Union Pacific (UP) participated in an early version, running until 2013. They piloted the system in Bailey Yard, North Platte, Nebraska, the largest rail yard in the world. The program was highly successful: It increased safety and reduced critical incidents and rule violations. The program also greatly decreased employee discipline. Other Class III and passenger rail carriers began to benefit from the system around the same time.

The program requires voluntary agreement among the rail carrier, labor and the federal government. Despite its success, UP refused to renew the program, effectively killing it. SMART-TD has engaged in an ongoing effort to reintroduce the program at all Class I carriers.

We Have Only Begun to Fight

After our 17-year effort, Norfolk Southern (NS) decided to take the lead on rail safety, and this C3RS agreement shows that CEO Alan Shaw is serious in his commitment to making NS the safest railroad by partnering with rail labor. SMART-TD President Jeremy Ferguson and General Chairpersons Tommy Gholson, James Ball, David Phillips, Dan Weir and Joe Borders began making real progress with NS executives in 2023, resulting in a signed agreement on February 15, 2024.

“For years we’ve watched the successes of the several shortlines that have practiced under C3RS, and because of that, for years, we’ve long been advocates,” said Gholson, who was instrumental in negotiating the pilot program.

Gholson also praised the efforts of the four other general chairpersons for their roles in constructing the C3RS framework. Alternate National Legislative Director Jared Cassity provided leadership by being a facilitator in the process and coordinating with the FRA.

SMART-TD: Out in Front

In a speech soon after the agreement’s signing, Ferguson said: “Rail labor has been out in front since the beginning. We have always advocated for the right to have a protected avenue to report safety concerns and injuries without fear of harassment, intimidation or retribution.

“For far too long, this nation’s rail carriers have been complacent with their approach to safety. Obviously, this is something that can’t be reversed overnight, but we are hopeful that the corrective process can begin with a program like C3RS.

“There is no higher priority for SMART-TD or the workers we represent than safety, not just for their own welfare but also for the communities in which they operate.”

SMART RME Director Peter Kennedy speaks on rail safety in front of a House roundtable.

SMART Rail, Mechanical and Engineering Department Director Peter Kennedy joined fellow rail workers and community witnesses to stand for rail safety during a roundtable hosted by Democratic members of the House Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines and Hazardous Materials on Wednesday, March 13.

Kennedy – along with Vince Verna of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen; Mayor Frank Moran of Hiram, Ga. (the site of a 2021 derailment); East Palestine, Ohio resident Anna Sevi-Doss and others – testified to the devastating effects of deregulation on the railroad, and the need for Congress to pass the bipartisan Railway Safety Act.

“Everybody knows the story: rail safety has deteriorated under precision scheduled railroading [PSR],” Kennedy explained in his opening statement. “It’s nothing more than a cost-cutting business operating model that is founded upon the root of all evil, which is the love of money. The sole focus is to maximize profits for shareholders.”

Watch video of the House roundtable.

The Railway Safety Act was introduced in the wake of the East Palestine derailment and explosion in February 2023 by Senators Sherrod Brown and J.D. Vance of Ohio, Bob Casey and John Fetterman of Pennsylvania and by Representative Chris Deluzio in the House. However, amidst concentrated lobbying against the bill by the railroad carriers, there has been no progress made towards a full vote in either chamber.

Democratic Congressmembers Rick Larsen and Donald Payne, Jr. hosted the March 2024 roundtable – titled “Listening to Rail Workers and Communities” – to “help get rail safety legislation back on track,” according to Larsen.

“Simply put, what we are seeing today in the freight rail industry is efforts to take shortcuts on labor safety and service, all in the pursuit of profits, while we see bigger profits for the railroads – meaning more dividends for shareholders,” Payne said.

Reps. Larsen and Payne
Rep. Deluzio
Members of Congress listen to rail workers’ testimony

Throughout the hearing, members of Congress, citizens and union leaders all described the fraught conditions that both workers and ordinary Americans experience as a result of deregulation and corporate greed. Kennedy outlined the adverse effects on safety, as well as shippers and the industry as a whole, that occur when the carriers cut services and equipment maintenance. Even worse, he told subcommittee members, are the drastic workforce reductions in the industry.

“As Vince said, over 30% of the workforce has been eliminated. With respect to the Mechanical Department employees, 41% of the workforce has been eliminated since PSR,” Kennedy explained. “And what’s crazy is, the cuts are still happening.”

“It’s absolutely asinine,” he added. “There’s not enough workers to perform this critical safety work on locomotives and rail cars in this country. That’s what it boils down to.” 

The Railway Safety Act would implement a variety of safeguards to keep Americans and railroaders safe, including a nationwide mandate for well-trained two-person crews on all freight trains; restrictions on train length and weight; regulations on the installation, frequency, upkeep and response to wayside defect detectors; and much more. SMART RME, TD and rail labor organizations throughout the country have urged lawmakers to pass these common-sense regulations in the 12-plus months since the bill’s introduction, as states including Minnesota, New York, Ohio and Kansas have themselves passed rail safety legislation.

“We need both sides of the aisle to make freight rail safety a priority,” Kennedy concluded. “We need meaningful change to the industry. We need Congress to act now, and I thank Ranking Members Larsen and Payne for hosting a roundtable discussion to discuss ongoing and unaddressed rail safety issues.”

Given a second chance to act, New York Governor Kathy Hochul has chosen to side with safety.

In late 2022, a bill requiring two-person crews on freight trains in the state reached her desk — and she vetoed it.

But something changed in 2023. Perhaps it was seeing legislatures and governors in both Ohio and Minnesota take the steps to pass legislation, or the catastrophic derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, that happened last February.

Either way, Hochul made the right decision on December 8, 2023, when she signed S.5775 into law: capping a superlative effort from SMARTTD’s New York State Legislative Board led by State Legislative Director Sam Nasca.

A mere three years ago, a bill establishing a minimum freight crew size did not even make it out of a state Senate committee. Now, New York is the third state in 2023 to pass two-person crew legislation, bringing the total number of states to have implemented legislation or regulations regarding a minimum two-person crew to 12.

“Another state has come to the conclusion that a two-person crew is appropriate and necessary for safe railroad operations,” SMART-TD National Legislative Director Greg Hynes said. “We thank all of the legislators, especially state Senator Timothy Kennedy, who introduced the bill in his chamber, and Assemblyman Bill Magnarelli for their leadership.

“Congratulations to all on the TD New York State Legislative Board for pulling together and achieving another victory.”

The bill was introduced in March and establishes an escalating structure of fines for violations by Class I and II rail carriers that run freight trains without two on the crew in the state. It took effect in January 2024.

The SMART Transportation Division Colorado State Legislative Board announced that a railroad safety bill it supports received a key committee endorsement on October 3 and looks likely to be considered in the state Legislature’s 2024 session.

By a 14–6 vote, the state’s Joint Transportation Legislation Review Committee approved of the measure, which limits train lengths to 8,500 feet and sets placement of trackside detectors to mirror what is proposed in the Railway Safety Act introduced after the East Palestine, Ohio, disaster in February 2023. The legislation also would prohibit carriers from blocking rail crossings for longer than 10 minutes.

According to Colorado State Legislative Director Carl Smith, the Ohio derailment was the impetus for some of the legislators to take a hard look at rail safety — and a couple of other incidents closer to home have kept the attention on the railroad.

“A military train from Fort Carson derailed right across from the El Paso County Jail, in Colorado Springs,” Smith said. “So that drew a lot of media attention, a lot of media spotlight.”

Incidents such as the Colorado Springs derailment and a second, more recent incident in Pueblo, Colorado, combined with members’ active outreach, made the commonsense efforts advocated by SMART-TD hard to ignore — even for people who had previously aligned with the carriers.

Smith said that state Rep. Ty Winter had adamantly refused to support rail safety legislation in the 2023 session and was a “no” for several months leading up to the vote in early October, but changed his mind in a statement to the review committee.

“I firmly believe the pressure that Rep. Winter received from the railroad workers that live and work in the 47th House District caused a significant change to his previous stance,” Smith said. “We will thank Rep. Winter for his support and continue to ensure that he supports rail safety legislation. The lobbyists of both railroads were visibly shocked by Winter’s statement and vote.”

A great deal of work on the legislation has been done, but there’s more ahead.

“We still have many steps to go before it gets to the governor’s desk for signature,” Smith noted.

But the committee endorsement with bipartisan support and 14 cosponsors — even before introduction before the full Legislature in 2024 — give it a leg up over legislation starting from scratch.

Smith also said that the legislation remains subject to amendment, especially at the encouragement of the railroad carriers, to soften the protections the bill advocates.

“I anticipate that happening,” he cautioned.

Smith and the Colorado State Legislative Board have already created a coalition of other unions, public safety and environmental groups to help raise awareness in the Legislature for a successful outcome that mirrors the winning two-person crew effort in the state in 2019.

“We will continue to educate legislators on railroad safety and lobby them to support the bill for the 2024 session,” Smith concluded.

On Thursday, September 21st, the Wall Street Journal published an editorial titled “A Union Railroad Job In Congress.”

In it, the Editorial Board cast aspersions on nameless, faceless railroad unions, directly stating that labor sought to capitalize on the life-altering devastation that has crippled East Palestine, Ohio in the aftermath of the Feb. 3, 2023, Norfolk Southern derailment. To the board’s credit, it was refreshing that there were no thinly veiled inferences. They were quite direct in stating their feeling that our nation’s rail unions are unapologetic opportunists looking to pad their own stats and satiate their members, rather than serve as truthful stewards, defending the industry’s labor and safety standards as we have since the 1850s.

To be equally direct: the commentary presented in the editorial is patently false and intentionally misleading.

First and foremost, the commentary of this board smacks of industry propaganda from the Association of American Railroads (AAR), the lobbying arm of the largest railroad companies. AAR CEO Ian Jefferies has been on a public relations tour of all available media outlets since the derailment in February. While the glow of the tanker car fire was still burning in East Palestine, industry leaders began their damage control. It has been surprisingly unsuccessful because national media outlets, like The Wall Street Journal, have been covering the fallout in East Palestine and its implications on the future of railroad safety.

Public interest has been renewed by each derailment around the nation since February. The interest of outlets big and small in covering railroad derailments has shed light on how prevalent they are. Many statistics have been thrown around in news stories, but the number most cited by the rail industry is that there are 1,700 derailments annually. Averaging over 4.5 derailments a day nationwide has made it difficult for the rail companies and the AAR to change the topic like they have in the past. It appears the NS derailment in early February was the proverbial genie and it’s proven difficult to shove it back into the bottle.

In lieu of downplaying the validity of the message that rail safety in the nation could be improved, it seems that the industry has changed course and is now opting to undercut the validity of the messengers. Historically, it is difficult for even a monopolistic behemoth like the railroads to win a fight with the Fourth Estate as it covers derailments and railroad safety as a public service, showing indeed that it can happen here. Obviously, they have made the calculation that scapegoating the unions representing our country’s railroad workers is easier.

The International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers’ Transportation Division (SMART-TD), the nation’s largest union in the railroad industry, welcomes this discussion.  

When operating vehicles that weigh 40 million pounds and stretch in excess of four miles, there is no way to “overemphasize” safety. To imply otherwise is indicative of a desire to downplay the widespread, shared consequences of rail safety in general. When operating the largest land vehicles on the planet that need every bit of a mile to come to a stop before hitting a vehicle stuck on a crossing, we cannot afford to discard any method to improve safety standards and bring about the necessary changes to decrease the accepted norm of 1,700 derailments each year.

From the outset, a disconnect is evident between the WSJ editorial board with the reality of rail workers as well as those who live in the communities that the railroads roll through. A WSJ editorial published on Sunday, April 16th states that, “Rail disasters are mercifully rare.”

Though very few reach the level of devastation of East Palestine and its subsequent chemical fire, the fact is that there is nothing “mercifully rare” about rail incidents in this country. They are more than a daily occurrence and any instance of one or more SMART-TD members being at risk of losing life, limb, or livelihood is unacceptable. To downplay these facts is irresponsible and disingenuous.

Unfortunately, both WSJ editorials were too riddled with insults to both the hard-working men and women who haul this nation’s freight as well as the dedicated public servants who wrote the Rail Safety Act of 2023, to address each individually.

SMART-TD would be remiss if we didn’t address the overarching insult that was meant to be the stinging conclusion. “Sens. Brown and Vance are using railway safety as an excuse for a union payoff.”

This insinuation of a quid pro quo indicates a level of desperation on the part of the AAR and its member railroads and all the opponents of the Railway Safety Act of 2023.

Sen. Brown has been in Congress for over two decades. His commitment to the safety of the people of Ohio and of workers is beyond reproach. As far as freshman Senator J.D. Vance goes, SMART-TD not only did not endorse the Senator in his 2022 campaign, we endorsed and actively supported his opponent, Congressman Tim Ryan. J.D. Vance has zero reason to “use railway safety as an excuse for a union payoff.” The only dog Vance has in this fight is the safety of Ohioans/Americans. Isn’t that the side we are all supposed to be on?

SMART members positioned for unprecedented opportunity

The time is now for our union. Across all the industries and crafts represented in our union — HVAC installation, railroading, indoor air quality, transit operation, architectural sheet metal, production, sign work, bus operation and beyond — SMART members are positioned for generational growth. Now, we need to seize these opportunities.

Political advocacy pays off for sheet metal workers

Unprecedented investment in the sheet metal industry — much of it due to strong labor standards and incentives included in federal legislation in the U.S. — paired with ongoing core work is creating incredibly high demand. SMART local unions now have the chance to organize and recruit aggressively to meet workforce needs.

SMART Transportation Division on offense

SMART-TD members are on offense against the railroads and their Wall Street-driven Precision Scheduled Railroading scheme for the first time in recent memory. We have seen victories and progress on two-person crew and rail safety legislation in Kansas, Minnesota, Ohio and other states across the country, and we need to keep pushing. More on page 28.

The same goes for the safety and working conditions of our brothers and sisters operating on public transit systems. We have seen far too many shocking, brazen attacks on our members while they are simply doing their jobs, safely transporting passengers from point A to point B. Policymakers and community members alike need to hear our voices and know, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that this cannot stand.

Organize today, win tomorrow

It is a new day for organized labor. Workers are organizing like they haven’t in generations, and 71% of Americans approve of unions: the highest percentage since the 1960s. And yet, the percentage of unionized workers remains too low, and we have seen the consequences in Maryland, Washington, Colorado and beyond. It’s time to strike while the iron is hot.

Under ordinary circumstances, SMART-TD’s National Legislative Department relies on National Legislative Director (NLD) Greg Hynes, Alternate National Legislative Director Jared Cassity and Legislative Department Chief of Staff Jenny Miller to educate our nation’s lawmakers on rail safety. But on this year’s “Railroad Day on the Hill” — held annually on the legislative calendar — 35 men and women representing 15 different states answered the call, traveling to Washington, DC to advocate for railroaders.

This formidable group of SMART-TD representatives conducted more than 100 meetings with legislators: sharing the gospel of the Railway Safety Act of 2023, shorter trains, increased quality of life and better safety inspections of rolling stock with any Congress member or staffer willing to listen.

In addition to holding this important series of meetings and reaching out to over 100 members of the House and Senate, SMART-TD representatives attended a press conference in support of U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) as he announced the introduction of the Healthy Families Act. This legislation includes provisions ensuring that every company with over 100 employees provides a minimum of 7 paid sick days to its employees. This bill has language in it that speaks directly to railroad companies.

The Healthy Families Act indicates the progress our union made in the 2022 national contract negotiations. In December 2022, Sanders pushed for similar legislation that was strictly aimed at railroaders — and though it won a majority of votes in both the House and Senate, it failed to get the 60 votes needed to carry a filibuster-proof supermajority and make it to President Biden’s desk to be signed into law.

With the ramifications of this bill’s success weighing heavily on the quality-of-life improvements that SMART-TD continues to seek for our members, Sen. Sanders reached out to SMART’s Legislative Department and made a point of inviting our representatives to his press conference.

Following the successes of the day’s events, NLD Hynes expressed his gratitude to the army of SMART-TD leaders who made the trip.

“These men and women went above and beyond the call of duty to be here today, and because of them, we had a fantastic show of force in the halls of Congress. The validity of our issues speaks for itself, but when leaders from these different states show up to meet with their congressional and senate delegations, it makes an impact on these lawmakers,” he said. “They hear from Jared Cassity and me all the time, but when someone from home comes to meet with them in DC, it puts a face to our issues in a unique way.

“I want to thank each and every one of them for making the effort to come out this year, and with your help, we will deliver on the promise of the Railway Safety Act, the REEF Act, and all the issues that speak to the quality of life our members deserve and the dignity of the work they do each day.”

At the scene of a derailment, there is no substitute for the knowledge and experience of conductors as well as firefighters. In our current national climate, government and media attention are on the topic of derailments and the emergency response to them.

SMART Transportation Division needs to hear from our members who have a background in both.

Many of our members are either currently volunteer firefighters or came to the railroad from a professional firefighter background. Having been trained in both crafts and having field experience in both makes these men and women uniquely qualified to be part of this national discussion.

SMART-TD wants to provide you the bullhorn to let your voices be heard in the halls of the United States Congress as well as in the board rooms of the nation’s rail carriers.

The SMART-TD National Legislative Department is preparing a short survey to help us identify our brothers and sisters with the necessary experience in firefighting to lend their expertise to this important conversation. Please keep an eye on your email inbox and respond to this survey that will be coming out in the coming days. Our union is the largest freight rail employee union in the country, and we are in a natural position of leadership when it comes to rail policy.

Our strength comes from our members, and right now is a prime example. We need our brothers and sisters to help us lead the policy-making process that will define safety standards for all of us for generations to come.

Please consider answering the survey questions when you see them in your inbox and be the difference now that safeguards your coworkers in the future.