Amtrak Safety Crisis

November 7, 2011

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Re: Amtrak Safety Crisis

The purpose of this letter is to alert you to the fact that, currently conditions exist
on the Amtrak property that, in the past, have resulted in an employee fatality. Supervisors are issuing orders to do jobs without enough resources and telling members of the Union that if they complain they won’t honor side deals to let them leave early. Young foreman are being intimidated by Supervisors and Managers because they are inexperienced and being told to do things without enough men to protect the job site. Our newer members are being told to do things by some foreman and when the instruction is questioned the foreman is rude, threatening and intimidating. The side deals, inexperience and ego power trips will inevitably lead to the death of one of our members. Of course there are other reasons for the increased danger now on the property, but I think if we are honest with one another these are some of the major reasons.

We need to be open about these problems and correct them. We have agreements, in writing, with Amtrak that will protect your right to refuse stupid and unsafe orders, but only you can enforce these agreements. This might mean you have to give up a sweet deal you have to leave early when the task is completed. However, it is better to go home at quitting time than not to go home at all. You are not the only one that could be hurt when you choose not to speak up because, for some reason, it is inconvenient. Think about your family when the stupid and unsafe order is being issued and what their lives would be like if you didn’t come home.

In the recent past, there has been an incredible spike in close call reports and a
real increase in disabling, life changing injuries. Consider some of these reports.

In early October a B&B production gang was removing scaffolding on the Hellgate line and piggybacking their protection on a TLS production gang. This case is an example of the foreman and supervisor not doing their jobs which require they ensure their men are protected. TLS gangs move, and so do their watchmen, and soon the B&B gang had no protection. A train came and the B&B workers had to jump out of the way. The Engineer called in that he thought he hit someone. The job briefing forms were also found to be fraudulent.

During October, the tie gang was routinely stealing foul time and the EIC was not putting down shunt straps to ensure the safety of his men. Also, the additional watchmen needed to protect employees when the gang starts to space itself out were not posted. When employees attempted to question these outrageous and stupid procedures they were threatened and bullied.

An ET gang was told to take readings on “S” curves that are normally done with a CAT car. A track gang had the track out of service and the ET gang foreman said to do the readings without the CAT car and stay in the gauge of the out of service track on the S curve. In high speed territory this is an incredibly dangerous and stupid practice. There were not enough men to provide watchmen protection. In this case the men in the gang stood up and refused and the gang foreman responded by threatening to retaliate. The men still refused and eventually the CAT car was properly and safely used for the job.

A week ago, a worker wearing orange pants and a vest was in the East River tunnel without protection, and alone, and had to jump to safety to a cut out when a NJT train entered the tunnel. The Engineer thought he hit the employee, but thankfully did not. The employee still has not been identified, but no one should have been in the tunnel working alone.

Again, in the middle of October, an experienced foreman was piloting equipment and saw a watchman by himself who could not see around a curve. The gang the watchman was supposedly protecting was not protected. When the older foreman brought this issue to the attention of the EIC the response was not to correct the protection, but to attack the watchman. Eventually, after the egos were massaged the protection problems were corrected.

A track gang was instructed to install ties by hand. The men were new and complained that there were not enough watchmen. The foreman dismissed these complaints and when the men were carrying a tie across the tracks with tie tongs a train came. The 15 seconds notice needed to be in a place of safety was not provided. One of the new men panicked and dropped his end of the tie, and ran off the railroad, because he was afraid of being hit by the train. The foreman had to snatch up the tie tong and they were able to get it clear of the coming train. The foreman tried to do the job without enough men and almost got them all killed. This was even after the men objected. The men should have refused under those conditions, but the foreman should have listened to the men when they raised a valid complaint. If the job doesn’t get done because there are not enough resources this is the problem of management and not the workers.

The surfacing gangs are routinely working without the proper protection and the supervisors and management are aware of it. When the men complain the problem is corrected. However, no one wants to go to work every day and have an argument. The problem is that if you let this stuff slide, because the idiot issuing your instructions is too ignorant to talk to, you or someone else could get killed. The person issuing these unsafe orders is not just being ignorant, but he is threatening the security of your family and you should respond to that person with that in mind.

Unfortunately these are only some of the reported incidents. There are plenty more examples all over the railroad.

Currently, we have a lethal combination of ingredients out on the railroad.

We have a lot of new workers who do not understand the rights we fought
for to make the job sites safer. You have an absolute right to refuse to
work in violation of the rules. This right is protected and since this right
was negotiated no one has ever been disciplined because they exercised
this right. We can not prevent ignorant behavior on the part of your
supervisors and managers, but we can ensure that you will not be fired, or
disciplined for standing up for yourself.

We have a lot of new foreman who are not experienced enough to feel
confident in challenging the unsafe orders that they are receiving from
their supervisors. These new foreman would also like to get along with
their supervisors and this is quite natural. However, rest assured, if
something happens on the job site the supervisor would be quite happy to
leave you holding the bag. If you have questions, you have an absolute
right to get answers before you place your men in an unsafe position.

Some, not most, of our foreman are on little personal power trips and this
really needs to end. We are all out there to get a job done and to go home
to our families. Intimidating and threatening other members of the Union
because someone questions how you are doing the job is not helpful and
is only going to make the situation worse.

There will be times when you have to make choices. Do I insist on my right to work safely or do I go along with the person who is potentially jeopardizing the safety of myself and my family with their unsafe order? Is making a deal to go home early, or to get a little extra overtime, worth putting my personal safety in jeopardy? If the supervisor is asking me to do the job without enough men do I accept this and act like I know what I am doing, or do I ask questions and risk getting him mad at me?

The right to work safely is clear. Many new members question whether or not the Union will back them up if they insist on this right to work safely. The Union absolutely will back you up, but we can not be on the job site and hold your hand while you defend your right. If the supervisor gives an unsafe order, and the foreman repeats it back to you, then ultimately you have to decide whether you are going to just go along with it, or stand up to it. We want you to stand up to it, but in the end only you can decide to do it or not to do it.

If the current practices continue out on the property it will only be a question of
time before someone is killed. Let us all work together and see if we can change this
equation and make sure everyone goes home alive and well.

In Solidarity,

Jed Dodd
General Chairman

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