Rail Safety Alert: It is time to lead

In early 1998, a Federal task force was created to examine railroad switching fatalities. Coordinated by the FRA, this working group consisted of representatives from both rail labor and carrier industry management.

For 22 months they poured over data from the 76 switching deaths that occurred between 1992 and 1998, as well as reviewed the limited data collected from similar fatal events from 1975 – 1991. Every conceivable factor involving each member’s fatality was charted, analyzed and examined in this exhaustive effort to determine the factors that contributed to our deaths as railroad workers.

On October 28, 1999, the very first Switching Operations Fatalities Analysis (SOFA) report containing the Findings and Recommendations of this group was made public. Click here to view the first report.

This first SOFA report contained five major railroad operating recommendations designed to prevent critical injuries and fatalities among our craft, later titled the “Five Lifesavers;” the very first recommendation – SOFA number 1 began with these two sentences:

“Any crew member intending to foul track or equipment must notify the locomotive engineer before such action can take place. The locomotive engineer must then apply locomotive or train brakes, have the reverser centered, and then confirm this action with the individual on the ground.”  

Sound familiar?

Now, our members on CSX have been ordered by the carrier to go in between rail cars without establishing any such protection (3-step, Red Zone, etc.). Many have been told by carrier management that if they choose to use “3-step protection” they will be disciplined for delaying train departures. Yet over the past two decades, many of our members have been disciplined and terminated over alleged failures to obtain such protection when fouling tracks. 

This chaos imposed upon a good portion of our membership affects all of us. Couple this with today’s prevailing political philosophy against the supposed evils of regulatory oversight of corporations, especially concerning industrial occupational safety, and we are left with no other option except to empower ourselves to protect ourselves!

Further, it’s a pretty safe bet that all of us know someone who was injured or worse while railroading. We all understand the hazards associated with our line of work and we are all familiar with the old saying “the rules are written in blood.” Contrast this with the actions of CSX railroad management and their blatant intentional disregard of the safe working procedures that were brow beaten into our conscience from our first day in railroad training and we have no choice but to lead.

Our union’s structure is built upon our ability to look out for each other and each local has a legislative representative who is our first line of safety. LR’s were around long before the carriers started forming company-run safety committees. We must not rely upon the carriers for safety; we are the leaders in safety, always have been, always will be!

Your Safety Task Force encourages and urges you to work through your local LR’s to ensure unsafe conditions and practices are documented, reported and corrected.

And remember, your Safety Task Force is here for you! Email us any question, condition, unsafe trend etc.. and we will work to find a resolution. 

It is time to lead, 

SMART Rail Safety Task Force

email: s_taskforce@smart-union.org
https://smart-union.org/safety/smart-rail-safety-task-force