全国工会官员表示，货运铁路行业多年来的成本削减和裁员导致出轨率上升，并为工人和公众营造了一个越来越不安全的环境。他们敦促加强对举报者的保护，并采取其他措施。
他们的评论先于2月19日的信交通部长Peter Buttigieg指责铁路公司花费数百万美元游说反对安全法规，而不是支持铁路安全。
两名工会官员都没有直接将他们所说的安全措施的退化与俄亥俄州东巴勒斯坦诺福克南方列车的脱轨联系起来。在这场脱轨事故中，有毒化学物质被释放到空气和水源中，迫使近2000名居民撤离家园，留下了挥之不去的环境问题。然而，他们要求增加联邦监管的信是由这一事件直接引发的，在长期酝酿的关于以牺牲公共安全为代价增加对利润的关注的辩论中，他们重申了自己的立场。
在美国广播公司新闻频道(ABC News)看到的一封来自美国劳工联合会-产业工会联合会(AFL-CIO)运输贸易部的日期为2月9日的信中，以及在与两名官员的采访中，工会领导人呼吁加强对最大货运铁路的联邦监管，他们声称这些铁路“偷工减料”，并开始采取“对工人和公共安全构成真正威胁”的做法。
根据联邦铁路管理局(Federal Railroad Administration)的数据，虽然由于疫情期间货运铁路行驶里程的总体下降，全国范围内的事故、死亡和脱轨数量似乎呈下降趋势，但美国最大的货运铁路的每英里事故率在过去十年中有所上升。
2022年，美国七大一级铁路公司——最大的货运铁路公司包括BNSF、加拿大国家铁路公司、加拿大太平洋公司、CSX运输公司、堪萨斯城南方公司、诺福克南方公司和联合太平洋公司——每百万英里旅行中发生两次脱轨，而2013年每百万英里发生1.71次脱轨。在3.98亿英里的行程中，2022年共有818次出轨。
根据联邦铁路局关于1级铁路的数据，2022年有447节装有危险品(如石油和化学产品)的列车受损或脱轨。
自2013年以来，已有5462辆危险品汽车受损或脱轨，其中135辆汽车释放了危险品。联邦铁路管理局在其网站上指出，铁路运输是“公认的长距离运输大量化学品的最安全方法”，特别是与公路运输相比。
在1月25日的收益电话幻灯片演示中，诺福克南方公司的高管指出，从2019年到2022年，其联邦铁路列车事故率有所增加，尽管铁路的人身伤害率在同期有所下降。
“我们太了解货运列车脱轨的致命后果了，”美国劳工联合会运输贸易部主席格雷格·里根在给联邦铁路管理局的信中写道。“如果这个行业没有任何有意义的改变，我们担心这些安全事故会不幸地继续发生。”
在信中，里根敦促联邦铁路局授权货运铁路使用该机构的紧急呼叫报告系统，以改善其对该公司的联邦监督。法国铁路公司机密的紧急呼叫报告系统目前是一项自愿计划，允许员工在保密的基础上向独立的第三方报告未遂事件。没有一个一级货运铁路参与该计划;然而，美国国家铁路客运公司、新泽西运输和其他17家铁路公司都参与了这个项目。
在周二的一份声明中，交通部呼吁诺福克南方公司和整个货运铁路行业加入保密的紧急呼叫报告系统，以便员工可以“报告不安全的事件和情况，而不用担心负面后果……”
该计划雇用美国国家航空航天局作为第三方，维护和分析侥幸脱险事件和其他不安全事件。根据Regan的说法，该计划将允许员工向第三方报告风险和安全问题，并提供免受雇主谴责或报复的法律保护。
瑞根在接受美国广播公司采访时说:“这个项目的全部意义在于试图在灾难发生前识别风险。”。
代表一级铁路的美国铁路协会(American Association of Railroads)在给美国广播公司新闻(ABC News)的一份声明中称，授权该计划是“错误的”，并指出，先前存在的报告机制已经足够，而“官僚程序”将减缓报告速度。
当2月15日被问及这一要求时，一名白宫官员表示，总统乔·拜登支持保护举报人。然而，这位官员不愿就具体的千钧一发报告系统发表评论，也不愿推测该系统是否能防止事故发生。
在给美国广播公司新闻的一份声明中，联邦铁路局局长Bose说，报告系统“是报告不安全事件和情况的一个令人难以置信的工具，如果更多的铁路参与，潜在的安全效益将会更大。”
AFL CIO运输贸易部的发言人在一份声明中表示，如果FRA认为它无法通过其安全管辖权授权该计划，他们将鼓励国会授予该机构这样做的权力。
里根称赞该计划的成本相对较低，他认为解决报告系统标记的问题“将比俄亥俄州现在的清理法案便宜得多。”
安全文化的恶化
“我们刚刚看到整个行业的安全文化普遍恶化，”里根在接受美国广播公司新闻采访时表示，评论过去十年来最大的货运铁路的商业模式的变化。
里甘说，2010年代精确预定铁路的广泛采用导致自2015年以来失去了4.5万个工作岗位。
政府问责局的一份报告将精确计划的铁路建设描述为一系列旨在提高效率和降低成本的广泛变革，包括减少员工和资产以及延长列车。根据美国政府问责局的数据，2011年至2021年间，七大货运铁路公司裁员28%。根据Regan的说法，这种成本削减的影响是减少了用于进行必要的安全检查的时间、精力和人员。
里甘说，五年前，一名工人平均会花两分钟检查一辆汽车;今天，他说他们减少到30到45秒。
“他们正在申请像刹车检查和自动轨道检查这样的豁免，这些天几乎每周都有这些事情，我们不断提出反对意见，”里根说。
Regan说，多年的裁员和严格的休假政策可能会使员工不敢报告潜在的问题，并呼吁加强防范报复。
“我敢肯定，大多数成员不愿意报告他们认为有风险或安全问题的事情，因为他们没有法律规定的保护措施，即你可以报告这一情况，你的雇主不能惩罚你或给予你任何形式的谴责，”里根说。
在接受美国广播公司新闻采访时，SMART Union运输部门的官员、前当地工会代表Jared Cassity也表达了类似的担忧，即缺乏报告千钧一发事件的保密手段可能会阻止员工站出来。例如，他指出了员工自身行为可能导致千钧一发的情况。
“如果我违反了规则，可以说，这可能导致千钧一发，没有任何机制可以让我不受纪律约束地报告，”凯西蒂说。“所以对我来说，最好不要违反规定，或者如果我违反了规定，不要报告，希望他们不会抓到我。”
凯西蒂还表示，联邦铁路局可能不知道出轨的总数，因为他们依赖铁路公司的自我报告。他将货运铁路和联邦铁路局之间的自我报告程度与波音公司和联邦航空协会之间的关系进行了比较，前者在隐瞒了有关其737 MAX飞机的信息后支付了超过25亿美元。
当被问及东巴勒斯坦脱轨，里根说，该行业是幸运的事件没有恶化或发生得更快。
他说:“坦率地说，我认为我们很幸运，我们没有遇到这样的情况，因为脱轨而对公共健康构成严重威胁。”
“没有不好的地方。”
Regan和Cassity表示，实施保密的紧急呼叫报告系统将是一种低成本的解决方案，通过允许员工报告事件而不必担心报复或谴责，来提高问责制和透明度。凯西蒂说，更有可能被报道的事件包括超速行驶，侵犯前方列车，工作限制，或以过高的速度连接车辆。
“没有不利因素，”凯西蒂说。
Regan将FRA系统与航空安全报告系统进行了比较，航空安全报告系统是一种机密报告系统，联邦航空局用于分析航空中的千钧一发事件。Regan说，在东巴勒斯坦脱轨事件之后，货运铁路行业可以将商业航空公司作为减少未来事故的典范。
ABC新闻联系了七家一级铁路公司进行评论。一些铁路公司，如诺福克南方铁路公司和联合太平洋铁路公司指出他们目前的报告系统已经足够了。诺福克南方公司的发言人反驳了美国劳工联合会-产业工会联合会运输贸易部关于安全性下降的指控，并指出诺福克南方公司的受伤率和主线列车事故率都在下降。
美国铁路协会的发言人代表更广泛的货运铁路行业在一份声明中写道，“让员工以受保护的、简化的方式报告潜在的安全问题至关重要。”然而，他们没有采用第三方系统，而是写道，保密反馈的内部程序已经足够了。
2023年2月15日，俄亥俄州东巴勒斯坦东巴勒斯坦高中的市政厅会议上，一名妇女举手提问。
吉恩·j·普斯卡尔/美联社
该发言人写道，“很明显，在第三方系统下，鼓励迅速、可操作的反馈的目标最终陷入了官僚程序和资源密集型报告”。
美国劳联-产联运输贸易部的一位发言人说，目前行业运行的系统缺乏有效防止报复的必要保护。
而国家运输安全委员会仍在调查这一事件，凯西蒂和里根认为，一个更健全的报告政策将有助于铁路工人和公众。
“我认为东巴勒斯坦的人们会看到一个不同之处，即雇员现在也参与进来，以确保铁路上实际发生的事情就是报道的事情，我们的机构将能够采取相应的行动，”卡西蒂说。
Union officials say cost cutting led to significant derailment rate increase
National union officials say years of cost-cutting and staff reductions within the freight rail industry have led to an increase in the rate of derailments and fostered an increasingly unsafe environment for workers and the public. They urge a strengthening of protection for whistleblowers, among other steps.
Their comments preceded aFeb. 19 letterfrom Transportation Secretary Peter Buttigieg in which he accused rail companies of spending millions on lobbying efforts to oppose safety regulations rather than support rail safety.
Both union officials did not directly connect what they say is the degradation of safety measures, to the derailment of a Norfolk Southern train in East Palestine, Ohio – where toxic chemicals were released into the air and water sources, forcing nearly 2,000 residents to evacuate their homes and leaving lingering environmental concerns. However, their letter demanding increased federal oversight was directly prompted by the incident, renewing their stance in the long-simmering debate about the increased focus on profit at the expense of public safety.
In a letter reviewed by ABC News from the AFL-CIO's Transportation Trades Department dated Feb. 9 and in interviews with two officials, union leaders called for increased federal oversight of the largest freight railroads, which they allege have "cut corners" and initiated practices that "pose real threats to workers and public safety."
While the number of incidents, fatalities, and derailments nationwide appear to have trended downward due to an overall decrease in miles traveled by freight rail during the pandemic, the rate of incidents per mile for the country's largest freight railroads has increased over the last decade, according to data from the Federal Railroad Administration.
The nation's seven Class 1 railroads – the largest freight rail companies including BNSF, Canadian National Railway, Canadian Pacific, CSX Transportation, Kansas City Southern, Norfolk Southern, and Union Pacific – suffered two derailments for every million miles traveled in 2022, compared to the 1.71 derailments per million miles in 2013. Across 398 million miles traveled, 2022 saw a total of 818 derailments.
According to FRA data about Class 1 railroads, 447 train cars containing hazmat materials – dangerous goods such as petroleum and chemical products – were damaged or derailed in 2022.
Since 2013, 5,462 hazmat cars have been damaged or derailed, with 135 instances of cars releasing hazmat material. The Federal Railroad Administration notes on their website that rail transportation is "recognized to be the safest method of moving large quantities of chemicals over long distances," especially compared to highway transport.
In an earnings call slide presentation dated Jan. 25, Norfolk Southern executives noted that its FRA train accident rate had increased from 2019 to 2022, though the railroad's personal injury rate declined in the same period.
"We know all too well the deadly consequences of freight train derailments," Greg Regan, president of the AFL-CIO's Transportation Trades Department, wrote in his letter to the Federal Railroad Administration. "If there is no meaningful change in the industry, we fear that these safety incidents will unfortunately keep happening."
In the letter, Regan urged the FRA to mandate that freight railroads use the agency's close call reporting system to improve its federal oversight of the company. The FRA'sconfidential close call reporting systemis currently a voluntary program that allows employees to report near-miss incidents on a confidential basis to an independent third party. None of the Class 1 freight railroads participate in the program; however, Amtrak, New Jersey Transit, and 17 other railroads are among those who do participate in the programs.
In a statement Tuesday, the Department of Transportation called on both Norfolk Southern and the entire freight rail industry to join the confidential close call reporting system so that employees could "report unsafe events and conditions without fear of negative consequences…."
The program employs the National Aeronautics and Space Administration as a third party which maintains and analyzes close call incidents and other unsafe events. According to Regan, the program would allow employees to report risk and safety issues to the third party with legal protections against employer reprimand or retaliation.
“The whole point of…this program is to try to identify risks before there is a disaster,” Regan said in an interview with ABC News.
The American Association of Railroads, which represents the Class 1 railroads, described mandating the program as "wrongheaded," noting in a statement to ABC News that preexisting reporting mechanisms are sufficient while "bureaucratic processes" would slow reporting.
When asked about the request on Feb. 15, a White House official said President Joe Biden supports whistleblower protections. However, the official would not comment on the specific close call reporting system or speculate on if it would have prevented the incident.
In a statement to ABC News, FRA Administrator Bose said that the reporting system "is an incredible tool to report unsafe events and conditions, and if more railroads participate, the potential safety benefits would be even greater."
A spokesperson for the AFL CIO’s Transportation Trades Department said in a statement that if the FRA feels that it is unable to mandate the program through its safety jurisdiction, they would encourage Congress to give the agency the authority to do so.
Lauding the relatively low cost of the program, Regan said he believes that fixing the problems flagged by the reporting system “is going to be a heck of a lot cheaper than what the cleanup bill is going to be in Ohio right now.”
A deterioration in safety culture
"We've just seen a deterioration of safety culture in general throughout the industry," Regan said in an interview with ABC News, commenting on the changing business model of the largest freight railroads over the last decade.
Regan said that the widespread adoption of precision-scheduled railroading in the 2010s led to the loss of 45,000 jobs since 2015.
A report from the Government Accountability Office described precision-scheduled railroading as a broad set of changes to increase efficiency and reduce costs, including reducing staff and assets and lengthening trains. Between 2011 and 2021, the seven largest freight railways reduced staff by 28%, according to the GAO. According to Regan, the impact of this cost-cutting is less time, energy, and people devoted to conducting necessary safety checks.
Regan said that five years ago, a worker would spend an average of two minutes inspecting a car; today, he says they are down to 30 to 45 seconds.
"They are applying for waivers on like brake inspections and automated track inspections, and all these things on a near-weekly basis these days, and we are constantly filing in opposition," Regan said.
Regan said that years of employee cuts and stringent leave policies might make an employee afraid to report a potential issue and called for strengthened protection against retaliation.
“I'm sure most members do not feel comfortable reporting something that they thought was a risk or a safety problem because they don't have that protection built into the law that says, you can report this and your employer cannot punish you or give you any sort of reprimand,” Regan said.
In an interview with ABC News, Jared Cassity, an official with the SMART Union Transportation Division and former local union representative, similarly expressed concern that lack of a confidential means of reporting close call incidents could deter employees from coming forward. He pointed, for example, to situations when an employee's own conduct may have led to a close-call situation.
“If I break a rule, so to speak, that may result in a close call, there is no mechanism for me to report that is free from discipline," Cassity said. "So it's more advantageous for me to hopefully not break the rule, or if I do, not report it in the hopes that they won't catch me.”
Cassity also suggested that the FRA may be unaware of the total number of derailments because they rely on self-reporting from the railroads. He compared the degree of self-reporting between the freight railways and the FRA to the relationship between Boeing and the Federal Aviation Association, the former of which paid over $2.5 billion after concealing information about their 737 MAX airplane.
When asked about the East Palestine derailment, Regan said the industry is lucky the incident was not worse or happened sooner.
“I think we are frankly fortunate we haven't had a situation like this where there is an acute risk to public health because of a derailment,” he said.
”There is no downside."
Regan and Cassity said that imposing a confidential close call reporting system would be a low-cost solution to improve accountability and transparency by allowing employees to report incidents without fear of retaliation or reprimand. Cassity said incidents more likely to be reported include speeding, encroaching on a train ahead, work limits, or coupling cars at too high a speed.
"There is no downside," Cassity said.
Regan compared the FRA system to the Aviation Safety Reporting System, a confidential reporting system the FAA has used to analyze close call incidents in aviation. Regan said following the East Palestine derailment, the freight rail industry could look to the commercial airlines as a model for reducing incidents in the future.
ABC News reached out to the seven Class 1 railroads for comment. Some railroads like Norfolk Southern and Union Pacific pointed towards their current reporting systems as sufficient. A spokesperson for Norfolk Southern rebutted the AFL-CIO’s Transportation Trades Department’s allegation of decreased safety and noted that Norfolk Southern has seen a declining injury rate and mainline train accident rate.
Speaking on behalf of the broader freight rail industry, a spokesperson for the AAR wrote in a statement that "allowing employees a protected, streamlined way to report potential safety issues is essential." However, rather than adopting a third-party system, they wrote that the internal procedures for confidential feedback are sufficient.
"It has become clear that the goal of encouraging swift, actionable feedback ends up bogged down in bureaucratic processes and resource intensive reporting” under the third-party system, the spokesperson wrote.
A spokesperson for the AFL-CIO's Transportation Trades Department said the current industry-run systems lack the necessary protections from retaliation to be effective.
While theNational Transportation Safety Boardis still investigating the incident, Cassity and Regan believe a more robust reporting policy would help railroad workers and the public.
"I think that the folks of East Palestine would see a difference in that the employees now have skin in the game to make sure that what's actually occurring on the railroad is what's being reported, and our agencies will be able to act in accordance," Cassity said.
