For Big Railroads, a Carload of Whistleblower Complaints

For Big Railroads, a Carload of Whistleblower Complaints

By Stuart Silverstein and Brian Joseph     October 21, 2015   FairWarning

As both a veteran railroad worker and union official responsible for safety, Mike Elliott became alarmed when he learned of trouble-plagued train signals in his home state of Washington.

Signals, he said, at times would inexplicably switch from red to yellow to green – potentially creating confusion that could lead to a crash. Elliott raised that and other signal issues repeatedly with his managers at BNSF Railway Co. But eventually, Elliott concluded that “these guys are running me around in circles.”

So Elliott, 57, of Tacoma, Wash., pressed his concerns with the Federal Railroad Administration, summarizing the matter in a January 2011 letter. The FRA investigated, and discovered 357 safety violations, including 112 signal system defects.

 Speaking up for safety, though, only made matters worse for Elliott at BNSF, where he already had clashed with managers. Within weeks the company fired Elliott from his job as a locomotive engineer – an act that a federal jury this summer ruled was illegal retaliation by BNSF against a whistleblower.

The June 30 decision by the Tacoma jury, which awarded Elliott $1.25 million but is being appealed, spotlights the unjust punishment that critics say sometimes is meted out to railroad workers who report injuries or safety problems. These critics, including plaintiff lawyers and union officials, along with others who have examined railroad practices, say the harsh treatment reflects old, hard-line management tactics that persist in corners of the industry…..

…. an administrative law judge in 2013 ruled against Union Pacific, declaring: “The actions by Union Pacific have been so egregious in this case, and Union Pacific has been so openly blatant in ignoring the provisions of [federal law], that I find punitive damages are necessary to ensure that this reprehensible conduct is not repeated.” …..

…. Joseph C. Szabo, who headed the FRA from 2009 until this January, said industry supervisors often are under “immense pressure” to curb costs by moving trains quickly out of rail yards. That, in turn, translates into pressure on rank-and-file workers “to ignore safety protocols and to just get the damn train out of town.” That’s why, Szabo said, it’s “critically important” that railroad workers are “very comfortable in doing the right thing without any fear of retribution.” ….   More here

Other News:

WHAT TO LOOK FOR AS CONGRESS SETS A SIX-YEAR AGENDA FOR DANGEROUS GOODS TRANSPORT  - Bloomberg

 

Dayton says oil-by-rail shipments through Twin Cities puts thousands of Minnesotans at risk

Grand Forks Herald

- ‎Oct 21, 2015‎

In the letter to BNSF president and CEO Carl Ice, Dayton says nearly 100,000 more people are within the ½ mile evacuation zone of crude oil rail shipping routes in Minnesota now that BNSF is shipping Bakken crude oil along a rail line through downtown ...

RR whistle-blower awarded $1.25M; TN derailment prompts 2 mile evacuation

Railroad whistle-blower awarded $1.25M

July 1, 2015   Seattle Times   By Mike Carter

 

Jury awards former union safety official $1.25 million for retaliation and termination over reporting safety violations on tracks running from Tacoma to Vancouver.

A railroad whistle-blower has been awarded $1.25 million by a federal jury in Tacoma after a six-day trial in which the former union and safety official proved he was targeted and terminated on a pretext in 2011 after reporting dozens of safety violations to federal authorities.

The unanimous verdict, which was reached late Wednesday, includes $250,000 in rare punitive damages against Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF) railroad for its efforts to discredit Michael Elliott after he raised the safety concerns and then fired him — twice.

Those efforts, according to testimony and court documents, included evidence that a supervisor set up a physical confrontation with Elliott in a BNSF parking lot, and then had him arrested and charged with assault. Elliott spent two days in jail but was acquitted in Pierce County court. The railroad used the incident to justify his dismissal.

Evidence also showed that BNSF officials in Washington colluded to provide inaccurate information to a mediator about whether Elliott had properly reported a 2007 felony conviction for drunken driving and vehicle assault. Elliott insisted he had, and internal emails he produced at trial indicated BNSF supervisors knowingly provided the mediator with inaccurate information, according to Sara Amies, one of Elliott’s Seattle attorneys.

“This is vindication for Mike after he’d been hung out to dry for four years,” said another lawyer, James Vucinovich. “The jury agreed that you can’t treat whistle-blowers like that.”....  more here

 

 A CSX train burns on Thursday, July 2, 2015, after it derailed near Old Mount Tabor Road in Blount County overnight. (MICHAEL PATRICK/NEWS SENTINEL)

Tennessee Train Derailment: 5,000 Residents Evacuated From Maryville

 

NBC News  July 2, 2015     by Alastair Jamieson, Shamar Walters and Chris Nelson

-video at site-

More than 5,000 residents were evacuated after a freight train carrying a "highly flammable and toxic gas" partly derailed and caught fire overnight just outside Knoxville, Tennessee, officials said.

Ten officers were hospitalized after breathing in fumes, Blount County Sheriff's Department spokeswoman Marian O'Briant told NBC News.

One car of the train derailed and was on fire, railroad officials said.

An evacuation zone is in place over a two-mile radius from the derailment, near Maryville, and could be in place for up to 48 hours, the fire department said...... more here

 

Additional coverage: CNN: Thousands evacuated…, Huffington Post: Train Carrying Toxic Substance…

Wastewater conspiracy allegations – CA Governor, Chevron sued

Big Oil and Big Rail - they don't care who they hurt as long as they get their way.

Wastewater conspiracy allegations – Governor, Chevron sued

June 4, 2015 Roger Straw   The Benicia Independent   

Repost from the San Francisco Chronicle

Lawsuit: Conspiracy by Gov. Brown, oil companies tainted aquifers

By David R. Baker, June 3, 2015 4:35pm

Kern County farmer Mike Hopkins says he lost a cherry orchard to oil-industry wastewater contamination. 

Photo: Leah Millis, The Chronicle

A conspiracy involving Gov. Jerry Brown, state regulators, Chevron Corp. and the oil industry let petroleum companies inject their wastewater into California aquifers despite the devastating drought, a lawsuit filed Wednesday alleges.

The suit claims that Brown in 2011 fired California’s top oil regulator under pressure from the industry after she started subjecting some of the oil companies’ operations to greater scrutiny, particularly requests to dispose of oil field wastewater underground. Brown then replaced her with someone who promised to be more “flexible” with the oil companies, according to the complaint.

Federal officials have since determined that oil companies have injected billions of gallons of their wastewater into aquifers that should have been protected by law, aquifers that could be used for drinking or irrigation. California regulators have now pledged to end the practice, although some of the injection wells may be allowed to keep pumping until 2017.

“California is experiencing the greatest drought of this generation, and protecting fresh water is of paramount concern,” said R. Rex Parris, lead attorney representing Central Valley farmers on the suit, which was filed in U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.

California’s oil reservoirs contain large amounts of salty water that must be separated from the petroleum and disposed of, usually by pumping it underground. Oil production companies can’t extract oil without some way of handling the left-over water, also known as “produced water.” The urge to boost California oil production prompted the conspiracy, Parris said.....    more here

State conservation chief quits amid tainted aquifer controversy

June 6, 2015 Roger Straw   The Benicia Independent

Repost from the San Francisco Chronicle

 

State conservation chief quits amid tainted aquifer controversy

By David R. Baker, Friday, June 5, 2015  

The head of the California Department of Conservation, Mark Nechodom, abruptly resigned Thursday following an outcry over oil companies injecting their wastewater into Central Valley aquifers that were supposed to be protected by law.....

..... Nechodom did not give a reason for his departure. But a division of the Conservation Department that regulates oil-field operations has come under intense criticism for letting oil companies inject wastewater into aquifers that could have been used for drinking or irrigation.....    more here

 

 Background:

California aquifers contaminated with billions of gallons of fracking wastewater

         ***

Holly Hills residents who protested trains carrying crude say railroad targeted them

By Leah Thorsen     St Louis Post-Dispatch    June 6, 2015

  

Judith Studebaker watches from her backyard on Arendes Drive in the Holly Hills neighborhood as a train passes through on Wednesday, June 3, 2015. Railroad contractors recently cut trees from behind residents’ homes, removing some privacy barriers. “I said you just can’t do this, you just can’t,” said Studebaker, who confronted the tree cutters. “I felt so helpless.” 

Photo by Robert Cohen, rcohen@post-dispatch.com             article here