Why do railroad workers keep dying on the job? | Working People

Published: March 6, 2024, 7:02 p.m.

\u201cLast Wednesday, a fellow rail worker was gravely injured on the job and lost his life,\u201d a Feb. 6 email from Railroad Workers United reads. \u201cOur brother Chris Wilson, who worked for Norfolk Southern, was critically injured in its Decatur rail yard Wednesday and died Thursday at Huntsville Hospital.\u201d Another email from Feb. 9 reads, \u201cOn January 15th, a fellow rail worker was killed on the job in Ohio.\u201d Then, on Feb. 17, another email: \u201cOn February 13th, a fellow rail worker was killed on the job in North Carolina. Brother Randall M. Howell, 41, of Allied Federation Lodge 563, died following a road crossing incident in Roanoke Rapids, N.C.\u201d Why are railroad workers all over the country dying on the job? And what can be done to stop these needless deaths? We talk with four railroad workers and members of Railroad Workers United (RWU). Panelists include; Nick Wurst, a freight conductor in Massachusetts, legislative rep for his union local, and currently serving on the RWU international steering committee; Matt Weaver, a member of the Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employes Division-International Brotherhood of Teamsters (BMWED-IBT) for nearly 30 years, legislative director for his union in Ohio, and a founding member of RWU; Mark Burrows, a retired locomotive engineer with 37 years in the industry, and the editor of \u201cThe Highball,\u201d RWU\u2019s quarterly newsletter: and Ross Grooters, RWU co-chair, member of Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen, also serving on the BLET-IBT Iowa state legislative board, with over 20 years in the industry.Additional links/info below\u2026

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Post-Production: Jules Taylor

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