OMAHA, Neb.– About 1,000 engineers and conductors who work for Norfolk Southern will soon be able to report safety problems anonymously through a federal system, without any fear of discipline.
Norfolk Southern is the first of the six major freight railroads to follow through on promises made in the wake of last year’s fiery derailment in eastern Ohio to join the Federal Railroad Administration’s program. The one-year pilot agreement is limited to members of just two unions working in Atlanta, Georgia; Elkhart, Indiana; and Roanoke, Va.
But federal officials, urging the railroads to do more to improve safety, touted the deal Monday as a breakthrough that would come just days before the one-year anniversary of the disastrous Norfolk Southern derailment in East Palestine, Ohio coming, which led to temporary evacuations, a $1 billion cost and counting of cleanup efforts and lingering questions about the long-term health impact on residents in the area near the Ohio-Pennsylvania border.
“Norfolk Southern has taken a good first step, and it is time for the other Class I railroads to back their conversations with action and fulfill their commitments to join this close call reporting system and keep America’s rail network safe ,” said the US Secretary of Transportation. said Pete Buttigieg.
The major freight railroads have resisted participating in the anonymous reporting system because they wanted the ability to discipline employees who use the hotline under certain circumstances. The trade group Association of American Railroads has said railroads are concerned that the system could be abused by employees who try to avoid discipline by reporting situations the railroads already know about.
Unions and workplace safety experts countered that the idea of disciplining workers who report safety problems undermines the entire purpose of such a hotline, because workers will not use it if they fear retaliation. Experts say programs like those overseen by the Federal Railroad Administration are especially important in industries where there is a long history of workers being fired for reporting safety violations or injuries.
Alan Shaw, CEO of Norfolk Southern, said he hopes his railroad’s agreement to join the reporting system will set an example for the rest of the industry. Since the derailment in East Palestine, Shaw has focused on improving safety and service at Norfolk Southern.
“NS is proud to be working with our union leaders and FRA to once again make industry-leading progress in safety,” said Shaw.
Officials from the unions that signed the deal — the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen and the Transportation Division of the International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers — praised the agreement and urged the other major freight railroads to sign on to connect.
“For too long, the major railroads and their trade association, The Association of American Railroads, have paid lip service to safety,” said Mark Wallace, first vice president of BLET. “The AAR prefers to spend millions of dollars on television commercials that brag about safety while backing away from safety agreements.”
Amtrak and several dozen small railroads use the government reporting program, but none of the major freight railroads have joined, leaving only about 32,000 railroad workers covered. The major freight railroads, including Union Pacific, CSX, Canadian National, CPKC and BNSF, collectively employ more than 100,000 people.
The railroads have said that part of the reason they oppose joining the federal program is that they believe their own internal reporting systems are sufficient. But railroad unions have consistently said workers are reluctant to use the railroad’s own safety hotlines because they fear retaliation.
SMART-TD conductors union head Jeremy Ferguson said this agreement at Norfolk Southern “will allow our members to make their voices heard when they see unsafe conditions without fear of negative consequences.”
The rail trade group has said a similar safety hotline used in the airline industry would allow employees to face disciplinary action if they report the same safety violation more than once in a five-year period. Railroads have pushed for a similar rule for their industry.