(The following story by Ja’Rena Lunsford appeared on The Oklahoman website on September 21.)
OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. — Three Oklahoma City railroad workers each were awarded $145,000 in punitive damages after a federal court jury in Oklahoma City concluded Monday the men were wrongly terminated from a railroad company.
Rick Morton, Paul Lister and Kris Puig sued Pittsburg, Kan.-based Watco Cos. after they were fired for attempting to form a union, court records show. Watco operates 16 railroads in 14 states.
Morton, Lister and Puig worked for Stillwater Central Railroad in Oklahoma City. Stillwater Central is a wholly owned subsidiary of Watco and operates more than 275 miles of track in Oklahoma.
Tulsa attorney Robert Hart, who represented Watco, said Puig, Lister and Morton were not terminated, but instead one of the men was fired for calling a manager a derogatory name and the other two walked off the job.
“We considered it a voluntary quit,” Hart said.
Morton, Lister and Puig said they were fired in August 2005. Lister, who worked as a conductor, said he and the two other plaintiffs wanted to form a union to address unfavorable health and safety conditions.
“Within a couple of weeks of me working there, I started realizing how bad it was,” said Lister, who began working at Watco’s Oklahoma City operation in March 2005. Court records stated the plaintiffs noted unsafe operations and violations of rules and regulations designed to promote the safety and welfare of the public and workers.
Morton, who worked as an engineer, said there also was disparity between workers when it came to treatment and pay.
“Some employees were treated well, some were treated poorly,” Morton said.
Morton in 2005 contacted the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen to obtain information about forming a union. The union represents railroad employees in the U.S. and Canada.
“We wanted to feel secure in our jobs,” Morton said. “Without that contract (with the union and Watco) there is no security.”
Morton met with union officials from Washington in May 2005. On May 28 of that year, the plaintiffs and nine or 10 other Oklahoma City Watco workers attended a meeting with the union in Oklahoma City.
According to court papers, three days after the union meeting Puig, Lister and several other Watco employees were asked to meet with company managers, who said they heard about the union meeting and wanted to know what the employees’ complaints were.
Morton said the company officials said there was no need for a union, and they would make efforts to address the issues.
Court documents state that Watco gave Lister a $2 per hour raise, which Lister felt was an attempt to get him to vote against the union.
Voting on the union question was conducted from July 28 to Aug. 17, 2005. Morton said after the election — which failed 9 to 11 — he, Lister and Puig were let go without cause.
Court filings state Morton was terminated Aug. 19, 2005, with both Puig and Lister terminated a week later.
Watco plans to appeal, Hart said.
“I plan on appealing all the way to the Supreme Court if I have to,” he said. “We are very confident with our appeal.”