Railroad Workers United

Single Employee Crews -- Hell No!

That’s right folks, Hell No! We’re fired up and we ain’t gonna take it no more!

We are not interested in hearing about how the telegraph went away, together with the steam engine and the caboose. We are tired of hearing how “you can’t stop progress” and we’re sick of being told that the single employee crew (or even the no employee crew) is inevitable, that the forces of industry and technology are inexorable. Bullshit!

First of all, what is there that is so “progressive” about workers working all alone, by themselves, day in and day out, year after year, with no companionship or assistance whatsoever? Is this really the kind of world that we want to live in?

And what about the inherent dangers for train crews -- for any and all workers -- that are forced to work alone? The railroad preaches “safety” and continually comes up with bad ideas that in fact threaten the safety of both the rail workforce and the general public.

In the coming months and years ahead, railroaders will be facing the specter of single employee train crews, and for many it is going to be the fight of our lives. Railroad Workers United feels there is no time like the present, so let’s get started now and be one step ahead of the game when it all comes down the pike.

We have included this special supplement to the Fall 2012 issue of our newsletter The Highball to get you, the rank & file railroader, fired up like we are. In these few pages we make the case that the threat of single employee crews is very real and is imminent. We ask some questions and have a few answers. And we lay out a strategy and tactics with which we can fight back and win. If you like what you read here, please make copies or order a bundle from us and we’ll mail them to you. We also have flyers, stickers and bumper stickers, all available at cost to you.

If you are a trainman, join in this fight for your job. And if you are engineer, join in this fight to save your quality of work life. And if you are a railroader of any craft, join this fight too, out of solidarity with your brothers and sisters of the T&E craft and to help keep Railroad Retirement solvent. Go to your union meeting, demand your leadership take action. Go to work and spread the word, and prepare for the looming battle ahead. Let’s not wait until the storm is upon us to start the fight. And in the words of the martyred union organizer Joe Hill, “Don’t waste time mourning, Organize!”