Why Do Railroad Workers Keep Dying on the Job? (w/ Nick Wurst, Matt Weaver, Mark Burrows, & Ross Grooters)

Why Do Railroad Workers Keep Dying on the Job? (w/ Nick Wurst, Matt Weaver, Mark Burrows, & Ross Grooters)

Author: Working People March 1, 2024 Duration: 56:03

"Last Wednesday, a fellow rail worker was gravely injured on the job and lost his life," a Feb 6 email from Railroad Workers United reads. "Our brother Chris Wilson, who worked for Norfolk Southern, was critically injured in its Decatur rail yard Wednesday and died Thursday at Huntsville Hospital." Another email from Feb. 9 reads, "On January 15th, a fellow rail worker was killed on the job in Ohio." Then, on Feb 17, another email: "On February 13th, a fellow rail worker was killed on the job in North Carolina. Brother Randall M. Howell, 41, of Allied Federation Lodge 563, died following a road crossing incident in Roanoke Rapids, N.C." Why are railroad workers all over the country dying on the job? And what can be done to stop these needless deaths? We talk with four railroad workers and members of Railroad Workers United (RWU). 

Panelists include: Nick Wurst, a freight conductor in Massachusetts, legislative rep for his union local, and currently serving on the RWU international steering committee; Matt Weaver, a member of the Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employes Division-International Brotherhood of Teamsters  (BMWED-IBT) for nearly 30 years, legislative director for his union in Ohio, and a founding member of RWU: Mark Burrows, a retired locomotive engineer with 37 years in the industry, and the editor of "The Highball," RWU's quarterly newsletter: and Ross Grooters, RWU co-chair, member of Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET), also serving on the BLET-IBT Iowa state legislative board, with over 20 years in the industry. 

Additional links/info below…

Permanent links below...

Featured Music...

  • Jules Taylor, "Working People" Theme Song
  • Jules Taylor, "John L. Handcox Remix"
  • Jules Taylor, "Her Water" 

There’s a conversation happening about the economy, politics, and culture, but too often the actual voices of the people who keep everything running are absent. Working People changes that. This is a place where the lived experience of the working class in modern America takes center stage. Produced in partnership with In These Times magazine and The Real News Network, each episode is built around a candid interview with someone from the vast and varied landscape of the American workforce. You’ll hear from teachers, factory workers, service industry employees, caregivers, and many others, each sharing the unvarnished details of their daily reality. Conversations naturally unfold to cover not just the specifics of their jobs, but the broader context of their lives-their personal histories, their political views, the dynamics within their families, and the unique blend of satisfaction and struggle that defines their world. The Working People podcast doesn’t offer abstract analysis; it provides a direct, human connection to the stories that collectively shape our society. It’s about understanding the hopes, the frustrations, and the resilience that are woven into the fabric of working-class life today. By listening, you get a genuine portrait of the people whose labor is so often discussed, yet whose own narratives are so rarely heard in such depth.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 100

Working People
Podcast Episodes
SpoOoOoky Special 2024: The Movie that Traumatized Us All [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:12:51
Last year, we summoned all the Alvarez siblings from the ether to record our annual Halloween episode. Sadly, we were not able to record a new Halloween episode in 2024, but to celebrate the holiday and give listeners a…
Workers take on Kaiser Again, Strike for a Fair Contract in SoCal [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 46:30
On Monday, Oct 21, 2400 behavior health workers at Kaiser Permanente's Southern California locations walked off the job in their ongoing struggle for a fair contract. Over the summer, negotiations between the health syst…
Alec Plant [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 58:07
Two years ago, workers from several different Trader Joe's grocery stores joined the wave of unionization efforts spreading across the country. Workers in Hadley, Massachusetts, made history in 2022 by not only becoming…
When Work Inspires Art: Labor Poet George Fish [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 30:50
While Max was inside the Labor Notes conference this past April, attending panels and sharing space with intelligent, hard working organizers, Mel was wandering the conference grounds outside, meeting folks and talking a…