CLEVELAND, April 28 — The following is a statement by BLET National President Don M. Hahs commemorating Workers Memorial Day:
On April 28 of each year, the labor movement and workers around the world pause to mourn those workers who lost their lives or were injured while at work in the previous year. On this day, we also pledge to continue the fight for safe workplaces for all workers.
Since the last Workers Memorial Day, the BLET lost four of its members to workplace fatalities. On this day, we mourn the following Brothers: Art P. McKay of BLET Division 843 (Prince George, B.C.); L.W. “Wayne” Edenfield of BLET Division 35 (Jacksonville, Fla.); and Anthony C. Rodella and Jeffrey S. Bohler of BLET Division 192 (El Paso, Texas). We will work to honor their memories by fighting for workplace safety throughout the rail community.
We are committed to fighting for good, safe jobs for all workers, whether they are railroad workers or workers in other industries. This fight still goes on in spite of an administration that apparently favors voluntary compliance over enforceable regulations.
We see this trend in our own industry with the implementation of remote control locomotives in yard switching. The Federal Railroad Administration continues to back voluntary guidelines for remote control operations instead of enforceable regulations. The FRA has also allowed the railroads to self-report incidents or accidents. They have let the foxes guard the hen house. Railroads are supposed to report incidents or accidents to the FRA if the damages exceed $6,700, but this judgement is left solely to the railroads. Since the Spring of 2002, the BLET has documented five deaths and five amputations involving remote control operations.
The bottom line here is that the railroad industry has decided to do whatever they can to eliminate jobs and reduce their costs; in the meantime, our members and other railroad workers are confronted by unsafe conditions with very little oversight and no guidelines from the FRA.
Remote control is not the only area of the railroad industry that needs to be made safer, but it is one that is not covered by federal safety regulations and demands our attention.
The railroads have continually compromised safety by putting economic issues ahead of safety issues. Layoffs and crew shortages have resulted in dangerous levels of fatigue among rail crew members. The fatigue felt by overworked crews demonstrates the carriers’ lack of a commitment to safety. Maintenance of rail equipment and infrastructure has been put off in many places, potentially endangering our members.
The specter of terrorism is still on our minds after the tragedies of 9/11 and those in Madrid. Each and every day, our members go to work with the knowledge that this could be the day that al-Qaeda launches an attack on the railroads in the United States. Yet, railroad security is dreadfully underfunded. The Bush administration plans to spend $65 million on rail security this year, while $4.5 billion has been earmarked for airline security. This discrepancy occurs even after the attacks in Spain have shown the vulnerability of rail networks around the world — most of which receive more government funding than passenger railroads in the United States. Legislation has been introduced by Senators John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Ernest Hollings (D-S.C.), which gives rail security issues some attention and funding. Possibly included in this piece of legislation is an amendment that would protect railroad workers if they report security problems or refuse to comply with an employer request that may compromise security.
The deaths of BLET members and the hundreds of injuries that occur every year show us that much more work needs to be done on the issue of safety in our industry. We will continue working every day until we reach our goal of zero injuries and fatalities. On Workers Memorial Day 2004, we call for an end to workplace injustice, to workplace injuries and to workplace deaths.