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      railway workers

      ​Smoke rises from a derailed cargo train in East Palestine, Ohio on February 4, 2023.

      Controlled Release of Toxic Chemicals Planned to Avoid Explosion of Derailed Train

      "You need to leave, you just need to leave," Ohio's governor warned nearby residents ahead of the release. "This is a matter of life and death."

      Kenny Stancil
      Feb 06, 2023

      Authorities ordered Ohio and Pennsylvania residents in the vicinity of a derailed train to evacuate immediately or risk death prior to a planned release of toxic chemicals on Monday afternoon.

      A train derailed in East Palestine, Ohio late Friday night, sparking a fire that has been smoldering ever since. In order to prevent five tanker cars carrying vinyl chloride from exploding and sending debris flying through the rural town, officials said they would begin releasing the material into a trench and burning it off into the air at 3:30 pm EST—though as of press time, it hadn't started.

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      train derailment
      Labor Activists Rally Outside The U.S. Capitol Building In Support Of Rail Unions

      Ditched by Biden, Railway Workers Continue Battle for Sick Leave and Safer Conditions

      Rank-and-file railroad unionists seem to agree that the best hope for a better contract next time is greater cross-craft unity, and a single bargaining coalition of all the rail unions.

      Jeff Schuhrke
      Jan 19, 2023

      While the high-stakes labor dispute on U.S. freight railroads has receded from headlines since President Joe Biden and Congress imposed a new contract last month, rail workers are continuing their fight for dignity and better conditions — albeit without the threat of a national strike on the table.

      “The American people should know that while this round of collective bargaining is over, the underlying issues facing the workforce and rail customers remain,” the AFL-CIO Transportation Trades Department said in a statement.

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      Opinion
      Labor
      Union activists and workers' rights groups protest at Grand Central Terminal in New York

      The Real Lessons From the Railway Labor Dispute

      The outrage and alarm produced by the mere threat of these workers to withhold their labor reveal that our economy functions because workers... work.

      Thomas Meisenhelder
      Dec 23, 2022

      So, the threatened railway workers strike is over. President Joe Biden used his authority over interstate commerce to impose a settlement. As we all watch CNN and FOX News breath a sign of relief, let’s see if there is a lesson to be learned in these events.

      Let’s take a brief look at the background to the dispute. The American railway system was deregulated in the 1980s. And, as always seems to happen, consolidation and profit-taking followed close upon the deregulation. What was once over 30 operating railroad companies was reduced to just seven through buyouts and mergers. These seven firms have all worked to increase their profits by reducing staffing, increasing and intensifying the workload of the remaining workers, and drawing back investment in safety equipment and other costly projects while increasing prices and rates.

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      Opinion
      railway workers
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