To donate by check, phone, or other method, see our More Ways to Give page.

×
      LATEST NEWSOPINIONCLIMATEECONOMY POLITICS RIGHTS & JUSTICEWAR & PEACE
      LATEST NEWS
      OPINION

      ohio train crash

      This aerial photo shows the aftermath of a fiery BNSF train derailment that occurred near Raymond, Minnesota on March 30, 2023.

      Derailment Spree Proves Railway Regulations Urgently Needed, Say Union Members

      "These companies siphon billions into share buybacks, dividends, and bonuses rather than into the vital maintenance and infrastructure growth we need to build a safe, modern, and thriving rail industry," said one worker.

      Kenny Stancil
      Apr 03, 2023

      After at least six major freight train derailments occurred across the United States over the past week, the need for stronger rail safety rules couldn't be clearer, an interunion alliance of rail workers said Monday.

      "The recent uptick in derailments across the U.S. highlights the dire need for stricter regulations on the length and weight of trains, as well as a focus on preventing unsafe operational practices such as precision scheduled railroading (PSR) which prioritizes short-term financial gains for Wall Street over the safety of communities and railroad workers," Jason Doering, a locomotive engineer and general secretary of Railroad Workers United (RWU), said in a statement.

      Keep ReadingShow Less
      News
      railroad workers united
      Alan Shaw, president and CEO of Norfolk Southern, testifies before the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee on March 9, 2023.

      Norfolk Southern CEO Refuses to Commit to Giving Workers 7 Paid Sick Days, Halting Stock Buybacks

      Questioned at a Senate hearing on the East Palestine disaster, Alan Shaw also wouldn't agree to end "precision-scheduled railroading," a Wall Street-led profit-maximizing approach that critics say endangers communities nationwide.

      Kenny Stancil
      Mar 09, 2023

      Thursday's U.S. Senate hearing about the ongoing environmental and public health disaster in East Palestine, Ohio "did not go well" for Norfolk Southern president and CEO Alan Shaw, the progressive media outlet More Perfect Union declared.

      Shaw refused to commit to providing workers with seven days of paid sick leave, ceasing stock buybacks, and abandoning Wall Street-endorsed policies that critics say contribute to the 1,500-plus derailments seen each year in the U.S., including Norfolk Southern's toxic crash near the Ohio-Pennsylvania border last month as well as a derailment that happened in Alabama just before the multimillionaire executive testified.

      Keep ReadingShow Less
      News
      ohio train crash
      A Norfolk Southern train passes underneath a bridge on February 25, 2023 in East Palestine, Ohio.

      Anti-Plastic Coalition: East Palestine Disaster Exposes Need for 'Systemic Change'

      "We need systemic reforms to stop the petrochemical industry from having carte blanche to profit off of poisoning people and the planet," says the international Break Free From Plastic alliance.

      Kenny Stancil
      Mar 03, 2023

      One month after a fiery train crash in East Palestine, Ohio sparked an ongoing environmental and public health crisis, an anti-plastic coalition on Friday highlighted how the petrochemical industry poisons communities across the United States and called for "systemic change."

      The Norfolk Southern-owned train that derailed and ignited near the Ohio-Pennsylvania border on February 3 was overloaded with hazardous materials, many of them derived from fossil fuels. To avert a catastrophic explosion, authorities released and burned vinyl chloride—a carcinogenic petrochemical used to make plastic—from five tanker cars, provoking residents' fears about the long-term health impacts of toxic air pollution and groundwater contamination.

      Keep ReadingShow Less
      News
      ohio train crash
      SIGN UP FOR OUR NEWSLETTER
      Quality journalism. Progressive values. Direct to your inbox.
      Follow Us
      Most Popular

      The War in Ukraine Was Provoked—and Why That Matters to Achieve Peace

      Progressives Condemn Biden-GOP Debt Ceiling Deal as 'Cruel and Shortsighted'

      'Enormous Policy Failure': States Throw Hundreds of Thousands—Including Many Children—Off Medicaid

      Let's Have Work Requirements for the Super Rich and Their Massive Tax Breaks

      Texas GOP Passes Bills Allowing Abbott Appointee to Take Over Democratic County's Elections

      Noam Chomsky on Why This Is the Most Dangerous Point in Human History

      It’s Clear as Day the GOP Does Not Really Care About Debt or the Deficit

      'Very Bad News Indeed': Study Sounds Alarm on Threat of Deep Ocean Current Collapse

      Right-Wing US Supreme Court Delivers 'Catastrophic Loss for Water Protections'

      Don't Be Taken by Corporate Media Both-Siderism: The GOP Alone Manufactured This Debt Ceiling Disaster

      SUPPORT COMMON DREAMS TODAY
      SUPPORT INDEPENDENT
      JOURNALISM TODAY
      We Can't Do It
      Without You!