Railroad Bosses’ Profit-Making Tactics Lower Safety Standards, Raise Dangers
|
|
June 27, 2022 | HEALTH & SAFETY | Working conditions, and labor-management negotiations between the unions representing the nation’s freight rail workers and railroad bosses, are getting steadily worse, reports from the bargaining table and congressional testimony show. And that’s important because the nation’s four big Class I freight railroads move bulk cargoes from oil to cars to coal to corn and are a vital part of the U.S. supply chain. “Even as (freight) traffic has returned, staffing has not,” Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employees/Teamsters Safety Director Roy Morrison testified…. “Along with these staffing cuts, railroads have curtailed inspection, maintenance, and repair work on their infrastructure and equipment, and required a reduced workforce to handle the responsibilities once handled by a significantly larger workforce. The railroads have made it difficult to impossible for their employees to properly perform their tasks that are essential to adequate rail service.” People’s World PHOTO/DREAMSTINE
|
|
|
|