(The TTD issued the following news release on July 13.)
WASHINGTON — In the wake of a shocking New York Times series that cited misconduct of giant rail corporations CSX and Union Pacific ranging from, “destroying, mishandling or simply losing evidence to not reporting crashes properly,” Edward Wytkind, President of the AFL-CIO’s Transportation Trades Department, today called on Congress to hold hearings and for the Inspector General at the U.S. Department of Transportation to launch an inquiry.
“Both Congress and the Inspector General have every right to demand answers for these corporations’ actions – and the Bush administration’s inactions,” Wytkind said, adding that media reports of alleged wrong-doing by these two corporations are consistent with a rail industry culture of harassment and intimidation of workers who report accidents and safety lapses.
According to the New York Times, “of the nearly 3,000 rail crossing accidents last year, federal authorities fully investigated just four.” Moreover, in the multi-year transportation infrastructure bill currently before Congress, the White House opposes any guaranteed funding directed to improving safety at rail grade crossings.
“Unfortunately government regulators stand firmly with some of our nation’s largest corporations – at the expense of the safety of rail workers and communities all across the country,” Wytkind said. The New York Times quoted an Arkansas Supreme Court ruling in one grade crossing accident that said, “this case reflects the development of a corporate policy at Union Pacific that put company profits before public safety.”
The big rail corporations have long had vast influence in Washington, Wytkind said. According to the Center for Responsive Politics, the rail industry has given $9.5 million to political campaigns since 2001 – 77 percent to Republicans. Vice President Dick Cheney is a former board member of Union Pacific, and Treasury Secretary John Snow is a former chief executive of CSX. Wytkind noted that the railroads have long blocked any meaningful strengthening of federal rail safety and security laws, and in fact have stonewalled rail safety legislation for a decade.
TTD represents 35 member unions in the aviation, rail, transit, trucking, highway, longshore, maritime and related industries. For more information, visit www.ttd.org