["The railroads, their CEOs, and the hedge fund robber barons will
not listen, but railroad workers have the solution to managing and
operating critical railroad infrastructure."]
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RAIL WORKER ALLIANCE URGES LABOR TO BACK RAILROAD NATIONALIZATION  
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Jake Johnson
February 17, 2023
Common Dreams
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_ "The railroads, their CEOs, and the hedge fund robber barons will
not listen, but railroad workers have the solution to managing and
operating critical railroad infrastructure." _

,

 

An alliance representing rail workers across the United States
published an open letter late Thursday urging all of organized labor
to support the nationalization of the country's railroad system,
arguing that the private and inadequately regulated industry has
"shown itself incapable of doing the job."

"In face of the degeneration of the rail system in the last decade,
and after more than a decade of discussion and debate on the question,
Railroad Workers United (RWU) has taken a position in support of
public ownership of the rail system in the United States," reads
the letter
[[link removed]],
which was published as the small town of East Palestine
[[link removed]], Ohio is attempting
to recover from the toxic derailment of a Norfolk Southern train two
weeks ago.

"We ask you to consider doing the same, and announce your
organization's support for rail public ownership," continues the
letter, which was addressed to unions as well as environmental,
transportation justice, and workers' rights organizations. "While the
rail industry has been incapable of expansion in the last generation
and has become more and more fixated on the operating ratio to the
detriment of all other metrics of success, precision scheduled
railroading (PSR) has escalated this irresponsible trajectory to the
detriment of shippers, passengers, commuters, trackside communities,
and workers."

PSR is a Wall Street-backed model
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has taken hold across the U.S. rail industry, gutting workforces and
undermining safety in pursuit of more "efficiency
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larger profits for rail carriers and rich investors. Meanwhile, more
than 1,000 of the nation's trains
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every year.

In its open letter, RWU—whose ranks include workers from a number
of different unions and rail professions
[[link removed]]—noted that
"on-time performance is suffering" and "shipper complaints are at
all-time highs" as rail carriers prioritize their profit margins over
all else.

Norfolk Southern, which also owns the train that derailed outside of
Detroit
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Thursday, brought in record revenue and profits
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2022.

"Passenger trains are chronically late, commuter services are
threatened, and the rail industry is hostile to practically any
passenger train expansion," RWU's letter states. The workforce has
been decimated, as jobs have been eliminated, consolidated, and
contracted out, ushering in a new previously unheard-of era where
workers can neither be recruited nor retained. Locomotive, rail car,
and infrastructure maintenance have been cut back. Health and safety
have been put at risk. Morale is at an all-time low."

The alliance also pointed to the White House-brokered contract that
Congress forced rail workers to accep
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last year as evidence of broader industry dysfunction. At the center
of the contract negotiations—which nearly resulted in a nationwide
strike—was the issue of paid sick leave, which is denied to most
rail workers due to PSR
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The solution, RWU contended, is to nationalize the rail industry, a
step that would open the door to "a new fresh beginning for a vibrant
and expanding, innovative, and creative national rail industry to
properly handle the nation's freight and passengers." The organization
is calling on allies to back its resolution
[[link removed]] supporting
public ownership.

"During WWI, the railroads in the U.S. were in fact temporarily placed
under public ownership and control," the open letter notes. "All rail
workers of all crafts and unions supported (unsuccessfully) keeping
them in public hands once the war ended, and voted overwhelmingly to
keep them in public hands. Perhaps it is time once again to put an end
to the profiteering, pillaging, and irresponsibility of the Class 1
carriers."

The derailment and chemical spill in East Palestine have catalyzed
discussions on how to prevent similar disasters from occurring in the
future. Some, including environmental groups
[[link removed]] and
progressive lawmakers, have implored the U.S. Transportation
Department to take urgent measures to improve rail safety, including
modernizing critical braking systems.

But others have sided with RWU in arguing that while narrow reforms
may be necessary as near-term solutions
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ultimately won't be enough to solve the rail industry's deep flaws,
which stem from the prioritization of ever-greater returns.

"We demand that Congress immediately begin a process of bringing our
nation's railroads under public ownership," the general executive
board of the United Electrical, Radio, and Machine Workers of America
(UE) declared
[[link removed]] in
a statement late last month, just days before the fiery crash in
eastern Ohio.

"Railroads are, like utilities, 'natural monopolies,'" UE said. "The
consolidation of the Class 1 railroads in the U.S. into five massive
companies over the past several decades has made it clear that there
is no 'free market' in rail transportation."

"Our nation can no longer afford private ownership of the railroads;
the general welfare demands that they be brought under public
ownership," the union added.

Read RWU's full open letter:

_Dear Friends and Fellow Workers:_

_In face of the degeneration of the rail system in the last decade,
and after more than a decade of discussion and debate on the question,
Railroad Workers United (RWU) has taken a position in support of
public ownership of the rail system in the United
States. (see Resolution
[[link removed]] attached).
We ask you to consider doing the same, and announce your
organization’s support for rail public ownership._

_While the rail industry has been incapable of expansion in the last
generation and has become more and more fixated on the Operating Ratio
to the detriment of all other metrics of success, Precision Scheduled
Railroading (PSR) has escalated this
irresponsible trajectory to the detriment of shippers, passengers,
commuters, trackside communities, and workers. On-time performance is
suffering, and shipper complaints are at all-time highs. Passenger
trains are chronically late, commuter services are threatened, and the
rail industry is hostile to practically any passenger train expansion.
The workforce has been decimated, as jobs have been eliminated,
consolidated, and contracted out, ushering in a new previously
unheard-of era where workers can neither be recruited nor retained.
Locomotive, rail car, and infrastructure maintenance have been cut
back. Health and safety have been put at risk. Morale is at an
all-time low. The debacle in national contract bargaining last Fall
saw the carriers ±after decades of record profits and record low
Operating Ratios—refusing to make even the slightest concessions to
the workers who have made them their riches._

_Since the North American private rail industry has shown itself
incapable of doing the job, it is time for this invaluable
transportation infrastructure—like the other transport modes—to be
brought under public ownership. During WWI, the railroads in the U.S.
were in fact temporarily placed under public ownership and control.
All rail workers of all crafts and unions supported (unsuccessfully)
keeping them in public hands once the war ended, and voted
overwhelmingly to keep them in public hands. Perhaps it is time once
again to put an end to the profiteering, pillaging, and
irresponsibility of the Class 1 carriers. Railroad workers are in a
historic position to take the lead and push for a new fresh beginning
for a vibrant and expanding, innovative, and creative national rail
industry to properly handle the nation’s freight and passengers._

_Please join us in this historic endeavor. See the adjoining RWU
Resolution in Support of Public Ownership of the Railroads, along with
a sample Statement from the United Electrical (UE). If your
organization would like to take a stand for public ownership of the
nation's rail system, please fill out the attached form and email it
in to RWU. We will add your organization to the list. Finally, please
forward this letter to others who may be interested in doing the same.
Thank you!_

_In solidarity,_

_The RWU Committee on Public Ownership_

* East Palestine
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* railroads
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* nationalization
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