Memorials to UTU members killed on the job in 2012

Michael M. Shoemaker
Michael M. Shoemaker, 55, a conductor and member of UTU Local 1383, was killed Jan. 30 in a switching accident at U.S. Steel’s Gary Works in Gary, Ind. Shoemaker, of Hobart, Ind., was a 10-year employee of Gary Railway, which is owned by U.S. Steel. Reports indicate he was working as a foreman in a three-person conventional switching operation when the car he was riding “impacted the side of the standing equipment that the crew had placed” on an adjacent track, pinning him. Shoemaker is the first UTU member to be killed in a rail accident in 2012.

Alan Thomas
Alan Thomas, 51, a Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (LACMTA) bus driver and member of UTU Local 1563, was murdered aboard his bus in West Hollywood, Calif., May 20, by a lone gunman. He was taken to an area hospital following the shooting and later pronounced dead. He reportedly had been shot in the upper torso. A detective told the Los Angeles Times that there was no apparent relationship between the bus driver and the alleged shooter. Calling the shooting “tragic,” UTU General Chairperson James Williams (LACMTA, GO 875) said, “We are all deeply saddened. Our thoughts and prayers are with Brother Thomas and his family.” Thomas leaves behind a wife, five children and 11 grandchildren.

Robert Glasgow
Conductor Robert J. Glasgow, 38, a member of UTU Local 887 at Harvey, N.D., died May 28 while setting out cars as part of a two-person crew at a CP yard. Initial reports are that Glasgow had mounted the lead car of 28 cars being switched conventionally when the lead car sideswiped other cars. He was pronounced dead at a local hospital following evacuation by a local emergency medical crew. Glasgow, of Minot, N.D., who had six years’ service as a maintenance-of-way employee, had been a conductor for some 10 months. Glasgow is survived by wife Jenny Ann and children Jacob, Carter, Cole, Ethan and Kaylee.

Brian L. Stone
Brian L. Stone, 50, a Union Pacific conductor, died June 24 in a head-on collision between two freight trains near Guymon, Okla. He was a member of UTU Local 923 at Dalhart, Texas. Stone is the fourth UTU member killed on duty in 2012. Stone is survived by his wife, Cindy, of Dalhart, daughter Samantha Meredith of Georgia, daughter Sidonia Alo and husband Daniel of South Carolina, daughter Halee Stone of Amarillo, son Robert Lemley of Amarillo, and daughter Jade Stone of Dalhart, and many others.

Georgiy Soloviyov
Trainman Georgiy Soloviyov, 35, became the fourth UTU rail member killed on duty in 2012 following a Union Pacific yard accident at Mason City, Iowa, July 31. Soloviyov, of Stanhope, Iowa, and a member of UTU Local 867 (Des Moines) had seven years of service. Reports indicate he was part of a three-person conventional switching crew when pinned between two cuts of freight cars. George, as he was known, was a native of Kiev, Ukraine, who married an American serving there as a missionary. They relocated to the United States and George earned his American citizenship in 2004. Surviving, in addition to his wife, Lori, are two sons, Yuri and Aleksei, and two daughters, Tatyana and Katya.