Today is Workers’ Memorial Day, an intended pause to remember those who have died at work. We promise to hold their legacies high, never to forget their tragic sacrifice.

As you know, the railroads are increasingly trying to do more with less. Their draconian Precision Scheduled Railroading policies have been widely ridiculed in the press and by anyone with a smidgen of compassion. They continue to browbeat their employees to the point of exhaustion and genuine despair. Such workplace morale can lead to tragic consequences and it is our endeavor to change that climate for the better. Today and every day.
Just a few short months ago, our push for the common basic courtesy of paid sick leave drew the focus of the entire nation as it threatened a possible nationwide rail strike. The court of public opinion adjudicated that case in our favor. Paid sick leave is not an onerous ask and Americans nationwide agreed. Health is something we all covet and it shouldn’t come secondary to company profits.

Railroading is a dangerous job. Despite decades of successful efforts to alleviate the perilous nature of the job, the carriers will continue to desperately skirt safety measures to move trains. They say they don’t, but they do. Whether it’s ignoring track maintenance issues to cutback labor costs, or building longer and heavier trains to avoid additional crews, to penalizing employees for taking days off so that they can coerce workers to make up for their self-induced shortfall through strategic attrition at the behest of Wall Street which has now backfired immensely, the carriers aren’t going to ensure that you remain safe at work. It is up to us, together, to protect each other.

Stay diligent, brothers and sisters. Our fight for a better workplace will not fall on deaf ears. United we will make the railroad a better place to work.