CLEVELAND, April 28 — The following is a statement by BLE International President Don M. Hahs commemorating Workers’ Memorial Day:
“Each year as we mark Workers’ Memorial Day, I sit back and think about the members of this organization who have lost their lives while at work.
“As I was thinking back this year, I realized that, for the first time in many years, no member of the BLE was killed in the line of duty since the last Workers’ Memorial Day. And I asked myself, has the industry gotten safer or have we just gotten lucky?
“Unfortunately, I think it is the latter rather than the former. I think the BLE had a lucky year in terms of on-duty deaths because the industry certainly has not gotten safer. Other members of our railroad labor union family were not so lucky this year. In fact, the industry has gotten more dangerous because of decisions made by management have resulted in a less safe workplace for all railroad employees.
“As a result of the way that remote control operations are being implemented across the U.S. without stringent safe guards and oversight, more railroad workers are in the line of danger. These operations have already proven to be fatal in three instances. These deaths, and the others which are likely to follow, should be a wake up call to those implementing remote control.
“The improper implementation of remote control is not the only danger railroad workers are faced with. The carriers continually ask locomotive engineers and other employees for more productivity. They make these demands without empowering railroad workers with the ability to take time off when fatigued. These demands and the fatigue that result often cause unsafe conditions for rail employees. Fatalities have already resulted from this problem and more may follow if changes are not made industry wide.
“Any fatality in any industry should serve as a wake-up to all workers. No one should go to work and not come home. No workplace should be made less safe through the decisions of corporate executives. No family should have to mourn their loved ones because they died while on the job.
“Each year, many workers — including those in our own industry — don’t get so lucky, so workplaces need to be made safer. Tell your employers to put people’s lives ahead of profits. On this day and every day, mourn for the dead, but fight for the living.”