Name: HR Safe Freight Act 1748
E-mail:
Employed as: Conductor, for 10-20 years
Posted: 09 August 2019
Hey thanks for the great comments (Conductor). Yeh been trying to get
the word out anyway i can and have had a lot of great responses. I
think if we all stick together on this issue and keep on getting the
word out with a strong fight WE CAN WIN THIS!!!!
Here are a few topics our industry is facing right now. First and most
imports to me because it effects so many as you know is HR 1748 Safe
Freight Act (Congress) and S.1979 with the Senate. I have been trying
to get the word out whether post on the comment section of YouTube
(train videos) a few other websites. If anyone knows any other ways to
get the word out tell your neighbors tell everyone. Post on social
media. Get involved. It effects so many. Railroads,Retirees,Railroad
retirement, our families, business we buy products from, and the
American Public.
This is what I got back from chairmen DeFazio.
Dear Friend,
Thank you for contacting me and taking the time to share your thoughts
on this important matter. It is a great honor to serve as a
Representative in Washington, DC. I am humbled to take on this
responsibility and look forward to serving our great state and Nation
to the best of my abilities.
I hope you will continue to stay in touch by visiting my
congressional website, signing up for my newsletter, liking me
on Facebook, and following me on Twitter to learn more about my work
for the U.S. Representative for Oregon's 4th congressional district,
serving since 1987.
I agree with you, but the real problem is that the RR's don't care!
Corporate America cares about their shareholders, and always will. The
CP, CN, CSX, UP, NS, and the KCS will always preach about safety when
it's convenient for them. Crews have been asked to turn a blind eye to
safety issues to get the job done. Regardless of RR dept. you may work
in, you're expected to get the job done. Many people don't know how
evil Mr. Hunter Harrison when it came to PSR initiatives. Then then FRA
backtracks on the "crew of two" rule. There's speculation right now
about the FRA backtracking, and I wouldn't be surprised if an
investigation were to take place. Like I said, the RR's don't care as
long as they're making money. What needs to happen is the lower and
middle class start standing up to corporate aggression. It would be
very hard for a company to operate with no one working for the
Railroad!!!!
Sincerely,
Peter DeFazio
Member of Congress
Second is (H.R 3055 LNG by Rail)
They now not only want to go to one man the want to ship LIQUID NATURAL
GAS BY RAIL!!!! The bad part is with little or no testing they just want
to rush this stuff through they don’t really even have proper tank cars
to haul it in with little to no data as explained by the railroad.
From chairmen Peter DeFazio
Dear Friend,
Thank you for contacting me and taking the time to share your thoughts
on this important matter. It is a great honor to serve as a
Representative in Washington, DC. I am humbled to take on this
responsibility and look forward to serving our great state and Nation
to the best of my abilities.
I hope you will continue to stay in touch by visiting my
congressional website, signing up for my newsletter, liking me
on Facebook, and following me on Twitter to learn more about my work
for the U.S. Representative for Oregon's 4th congressional district,
serving since 1987.
U.S. House of Representatives approved an amendment to H.R. 3055
offered by myself along with a few other co-sponsors Chairman of the
House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, that would
prohibit the Secretary of Transportation from finalizing a rulemaking
and issuing a special permit to allow the transportation of Liquefied
Natural Gas (LNG) by rail tank car. Frankly the railroad doesn’t give a
dam about safety or anything else for that matter except share holders
and profits. Railroads have fallen to the jackals on Wall Street. I
have been working diligently to keep this from happening. A comment
period on the special permit was set to close July 8, 2019. However we
managed to get it pushed back by asking for more time.
President Trump issued an Executive Order on April 10, 2019, calling
for LNG to be moved throughout the U.S. in rail tank cars within 13
months, and on June 6, 2019, the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials
Safety Administration (PHMSA) moved ahead with a plan to authorize six
trains, of 100 or more rail tank cars, to move LNG for export through
densely populated areas.
“In its never-ending quest to put profit ahead of people, the Trump
administration is now trying to bypass long-standing requirements for
transportation of LNG by putting it into 100-car trains that roll
through densely-populated areas at upwards of 50 miles per hour,”.
“This plan is beyond absurd. Should even one tank car get punctured,
the results could be devastating. My amendment blocks this brazen
attempt by the administration. I urge the Senate to follow suit and
stop a massive catastrophe before it’s too late.”
Typically, when PHMSA authorizes transportation of a hazardous
material, it does so after a careful evaluation of the risks,
alternatives, and safety conditions. It publishes these findings so
that the public can adequately challenge or comment on its
conclusions. PHMSA has not done its due diligence, and this rulemaking
and special permit are being rushed without an opportunity to fully
consider the potentially catastrophic consequences of moving LNG by
rail. Nowhere in the world do higher speed trains share the rails with
LNG or any hazardous material of this nature,” From Susan Mehiel,
spokesperson for the Alliance. “The US DOT has not increased the
regulations for LNG over and above those for oil trains and we know
what has happened with the so-called ‘bomb trains. Another recent
railroad regulation change has major implications for the Treasure and
Space Coasts. In 2016, when questioned about delays at grade crossings
caused by stalled trains, the Federal Railroad Administration wrote
they have proposed a rule requiring 2-person minimum crews on trains.
“At least two crew members are needed to efficiently separate a train
and allow highway users to pass through a crossing in emergency
situations. As of May 23rd 2019 the FRA withdrew the proposed rule.
“With 150 grade crossings through the Space and Treasure Coasts, trains
blocking major roadways like the FP&L Nuclear Power Plant evacuation
routes and hospital access puts our communities in grave danger,”
Mehiel explained.
“Without the 2-person minimum, critical roads could be blocked for
hours.”
Eighty people have died on Florida’s railroads in the last 18 months.
The Alliance wants the Governor and Florida Transportation Secretary
Thibault to address this epidemic proportion and call on the FRA to
consider the impact of the federal regulations on the lives of
Floridians.
As Mehiel said, “With 80 deaths on Florida’s rail systems, what we need
is an investigation into these accidents and not the additions of speed
trains going over 100 mph and LNG!” Thank you Mr ........... for all
your support and questions I hope this covered it feel free to contact
my office for any other questions regarding this H.R 3055 bill. We are
going to need all the help and support on this issue.
Sincerely,
Peter DeFazio
Member of Congress
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-tUAIfb8Wy8&feature=share
The last issue I want to bring up that really needs some attention is
Crew Fatigue.
The single most important action Congress and the Federal Railroad
Administration can take to improve rail safety especially in the
movement of hazardous materials and now the new LNG issue is to
eliminate train-crew fatigue and provide predictable start times for
train crews.
The unpredictable work schedules of safety critical operating employees
in the railroad industry has and continues to be the root cause of the
fatigue problems that have placed many releases of hazardous materials
on the front pages of our newspapers and in the media. Although the
Rail Safety Improvement Act of 2008 (RSIA) provides for 10 hours of
undisturbed rest between work assignments, “the application is
misplaced because it does nothing to improve the predictability of
reporting times nor does it allow employees the opportunity to plan
their rest before reporting for duty.
(One small improvement that will make a tremendous difference in the
safety for all train operations is simply to move the required 10 hours
of undisturbed rest from immediately following service to immediately
preceding service.) The minimum of 10 hours of notification before
reporting for 12 hours or more of safety critical service will allow
operating employees to get their proper rest prior to reporting for
duty so they can safety and alertly operate their train while on duty.
“An even greater safety enhancement would be to assign regular start
times for each crew, or at a minimum require that crews be notified
before going off duty of the time they must report back for service.
From what I know this has been pushed to Congress and the FRA to make a
mandate on crew fatigue issues that still have not been approved. Only
to deregulate most issues that have been put in place since the Obama
administration. Also if the operating train crews could have better
train schedules to know when they are going to work in a 12 hours
notice. I have many of times set for 2 and 3 days first out waiting on
a call only to feel like i have insomnia waiting on a call. (You can
only rest so long thinking and waiting on the phone to ring) Even if we
could mark off under crew fatigue without any points or occurrences like
operation red-block would be a big step in the right direction however
then it would pose someone marking off to watch football or some other
type of reason the company would disagree with.
If anyone is interested in getting more involved with what’s going on
check out (RAILROADWORKERSUNITED). Ron Kaminkow great great guy has
been around the railroad industry for 30 plus years. It’s worth a look.
If anyone has any ideas on how to get the word out regarding these very
important issues. Post it let’s stick together keep on pushing rising
up we can do this let’s keep America Safe let’s keep our families safe
let’s do the right thing. Thanks again for the wonderful post regarding
hazmats and issues about one man crews keep on getting the word out. We
are headed in the right direction.
1. Protect the TWO MAN CREW BILL (HR 1748 Safe Freight Act) It’s about
public safety and jobs.
2. Go to SMART-UNION.org/td
Click on the Red button.
2. Enter contact info
3. Click Send.
Brothers of both unions
You have all got this wrong when it come to 2 man crew verses one man
crew when all you do is worry about losing jobs. Its common sense
thousands of railroad workers will lose their jobs if all the
railroads
are allowed to go to 1 man crews. That's an issue you need to take up
with TRUMP! He claims he is creating jobs then let him do something
about people keeping the ones they have!
This is about safety. This is about saving lives. Not just crew lives
but the American people as well. CSX preaches safety every single day.
Its in their rule books and in their advertising. Its 24 hour a day
safety...safety....safety. Well let them put their money where their
mouths are. Pay for safety. Keep 2 men in the cab.
The public has no idea what we deal with. Tell your neighbors about
how
many cars we hit and people are killed every year when they are hit by
trains. Explain to them how the engineer is in the cab calling the
dispatcher and getting 911 called. He is taking care of anything that
may be wrong with the locomotive. He stays with the train. Tell them
how the conductor gets down and rushes to the vehicle to see if he can
possibly save a life. Maybe a baby is in the car and needs to be
helped
or maybe the parents can be removed and need CPR. Maybe he can comfort
someone who is dying or in shock or screaming because they are
severely
injured . Tell them about how we hit live stock and large deer. Tell
them how people love to put junk on the tracks. Shopping carts,
bicycles, steel barrows, wheelchairs and even abandoned cars. Tell
them
about how many trees we hit a year and do extensive damage to the
locomotive. The engineer stays with the locomotives and assess the
damage and does what is necessary to radio dispatchers for help while
the conductors gets down and removes debris and check the rest of the
train for any damage or signs of derailment. Tell them about the
territory that is in the middle of TIM BUCK TWO! The places where no
one can get to you fast unless you have a helicopter. How will they go
bathroom now without two people to keep the train going down the tracks
unless they have to stop not blocking crossings or take lunch. Tell them
how radios don't always work in remote locations. Telemetry drops out
and communication is lost. How many times does a conductor have to go
back
and trouble shoot another unit after alarms are going off. The
engineer
keeps the train rolling the best he can while the conductor checks the
computers and checks to see if it is loading. Tell them about the
blind
curves that only one crew member can see around when your approaching
public crossings or trees that block signals so that only one crew
member can see them until you get the train right on top of them. Tell
them about wash outs from floods, and heat warped rail and fog so
thick
you cant see a foot in front of you. SO WHAT IF YOU GOT PTC!! PTC
does
not tell you if a car in stopped on the tracks or a tree is across it
or a person is walking in the tracks or there is 5 inches of water
over
the rail! Tell them how crew members have been attacked and some have
even been killed by gang thugs and trespassers. A single man has no
chance in hell in these situations. It is better to have someone else
with you to keep watch when working in bad areas and ghetto rail
yards.
The list goes on and on. Tell them how the company took away the right
of the crew members to take a power nap. One crew member is supposed
to
call stopped every 15 minutes while they are waiting on line of road.
As
long as someone is awake and doing this and paying attention there is
no
reason on god green earth while a tired crew member cant take a 20
minute power nap. Tell them how crews are run into the ground and some
are called out every 10 hours around the clock. They work all hours of
the day and night and most have no weekends off. The company wont even
let them have a power nap. What is going to happen when there is only
1
man on the train by himself and he is just plain worn out or is sick
and
afraid to take a day off because of the companies new attendance
policy
which is just absolutely insane. People come to work sick all the
time.
Vomiting, diarrhea, fevers and the flu doesn't stop them because they
are in fear of losing their jobs. How is a sick man who is all by
himself going to be able to make a full run safely and without risking
his life or the publics when he doesn't have his other crew member to
help keep him alert. The engineer has many roles and duties as well as
the conductor. There are times when something happens that it is a
must
for an engineer to be on board and ready to take instructions while
the
conductor handles the rest of the responsibilities. There are so many
things that go into railroading and running trains that the public
doesn't know a thing about.
THIS ONE MAN CREW IDEA IS THE MOST UNSAFE AND IRRESPONSIBLE IDEA that
has ever been brought forward in the history of the railroad industry.
And for what? To save a damn dollar. To line someone's pockets. To
make
someone rich. Who care who gets killed. Who care about the destruction
to family lives. I don't know about you but I sure the hell do and so
should every person in America!
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