Easy to do when you can put the blame on the remaining workers.
Frank
-----Original Message-----
From: blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Carl Jarvis
Sent: Sunday, June 19, 2016 1:41 AM
To: blind-democracy@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Cc: Miriam Vieni <miriamvieni@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: [blind-democracy] Re: Oregon oil train crash highlights danger of
smaller crew
Stories such as this one hit me the hardest. Somewhere in a crystal palace in
a financial district, a Board of "respected" citizens decide to shave just a
bit off the expense of shipping hazardous materials by rail, through a
reduction in workers whose job is to safely transport that dangerous material
safely to its destination. We read, "Eleven cars jump the rail and four catch
on fire". Two workers are all that stand between this dangerous fire and a
massive disaster.
Setting aside all of the homes threatened and people whose lives are endangered
by this accident, what about the two workers responsible for the safe arrival
of this train. What about their safety. Do they have families dependent upon
the monthly paycheck needed to barely meet the bills? Are these Corporate
Board members really saying that they place little or no value upon the lives
of their employees? Do they think that they live on another planet, one
protected from the death that they are allowing to spread across the land?
Frankly, I am not prepared to die as a result of their disdain for me and my
fellow working class members, even with the knowledge that they will also die
from their stupidity. We have tried to convince them with protests and long
speeches, to no avail. The working class must organize and present a
concentrated front against these uncaring monsters.
We call such unified action, Strikes, and Demands.
Carl Jarvis
On 6/18/16, Roger Loran Bailey <dmarc-noreply@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
http://themilitant.com/2016/8024/802452.html
The Militant (logo)
Vol. 80/No. 24 June 20, 2016
Oregon oil train crash highlights danger of smaller crew
Columbia Riverkeeper
Smoke billows from derailed train cars carrying volatile Bakken crude
oil June 3 a half mile from the center of town in Mosier, 70 miles
east of Portland, Oregon. Eleven cars from the 96-car Union Pacific
train jumped the track and four caught fire, forcing the evacuation of
some residents. The derailment occurred on relatively straight track
while the train was traveling within the speed limit. Such oil trains
are operated by a two-person crew.
Some 18 trains a day headed for Pacific seaports run along the
Columbia River through the area where the derailment occurred. “You
are talking about trains that are 98 per-cent hazardous material,
operated with crews that are half the size they used to be,” said Herb
Krohn, Washington state legislative director for the International
Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers.
— MAGGIE TROWE
Related articles:
‘We’re fed up with two-tier pay,’ say aerospace workers On the Picket
Line Farmworker convention discusses fights to build union
Front page (for this issue) | Home | Text-version home
