NORFOLK SOUTHERN SIGNS ON TO USE OF SAFETY HOTLINE
About 1,000 engineers and conductors who work for Norfolk Southern will soon be able to report safety concerns 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 eastern Ohio derailment to join the Federal Railroad Administration’s program. The one-year pilot agreement is limited to members of just two unions who work in Atlanta; Elkhart, Ind.; and Roanoke, Va.
But federal officials who urged the railroads to do more to improve safety touted the agreement Monday as a breakthrough coming just days before Saturday’s one-year anniversary of the disastrous Norfolk Southern derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, that prompted temporary evacuations, a $1 billion and counting cleanup and lingering questions about long-term health consequences for residents in the area near the Pennsylvania border.
“Norfolk Southern has taken a good first step, and it’s time for the other Class I railroads to back up their talk with action and make good on their promises to join this close-call reporting system and keep America’s rail network safe,” U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said.
The major freight railroads have resisted joining the anonymous reporting system because they wanted the ability to discipline workers who use the hotline in certain circumstances. The Association of American Railroads trade group has said railroads were worried that the system could be abused by workers who try to avoid discipline by reporting situations a railroad already knows about.
Unions and workplace safety experts countered that the idea of disciplining workers who report safety concerns undermines the entire purpose of such a hotline because workers won’t use it if they fear retribution. Experts say programs like the one overseen by the Federal Railroad Administration are especially important in industries like railroads where there is a long history of workers being fired for reporting safety violations or injuries.
Norfolk Southern CEO Alan Shaw said he hopes his railroad’s agreement to join the reporting system will set an example for the rest of the industry.