Norfolk Southern

Norfolk Southern Worker Sues; Railroad Put ‘Profits Ahead Of Safety’

July 30, 2024 Mike Gauntner, WFMJ. Resist! Derailment, East Palestine, Norfolk Southern, Railroads, Workplace Safety

Claiming that Norfolk Southern put “profits ahead of safety,” one of the railroad’s employees has filed a lawsuit accusing the company of negligence by sending him to the site of the February 3, 2023 fire, derailment, and toxic spill in East Palestine. Joseph Lee Roberts of Indiana filed a complaint in U.S. District Court in Youngstown Wednesday claiming he had developed chemically induced asthma after he and other workers were exposed to vinyl chloride that some of the derailed cars had been carrying. Roberts says in the lawsuit that with a focus on getting trains running through the village again, Norfolk Southern sent employees to East Palestine to fix the track which had been damaged by the derailment and fire.

Judge Allows East Palestine Residents’ Lawsuit Against Norfolk Southern

March 15, 2024 Nick Robertson, The Hill. Resist! Class Action Lawsuit, Derailment, East Palestine, Norfolk Southern, Toxic Chemicals

A class action suit accusing Norfolk Southern of negligence over the train derailment that released toxic chemicals in East Palestine, Ohio, last year can go forward, a federal judge determined Wednesday. Judge Benita Yalonda Pearson rejected the railroad’s arguments that claims in the suit were protected by federal law regulating railroads, instead ruling that the case focuses on activity that is not covered by protections. The suit represents about 500,000 people and businesses near the eastern Ohio town where nearly 40 railcars derailed last year, some of which contained toxic vinyl chloride.

Is East Palestine Safe One Year After The Ohio Train Derailment?

January 23, 2024 Eve Andrews, Grist. Educate! Derailment, East Palestine, Environment, health, Norfolk Southern, Ohio, Railroads

If there hadn’t been construction planned for the bridge that crosses over Leslie Run, one of the creeks that runs through the middle of East Palestine, Ohio, Rick Tsai and Randy DeHaven might not have noticed the worst contamination they’d seen in the creek in weeks. A backhoe had hoisted a chunk of earth from the bank of the creek, leaving a pool about eight feet across and deep enough to come up to the knees of Tsai’s rubber fishing waders. What it also left, in Tsai’s words, was an opportunity for a sort of “geological sample” — evidence that oil and chemicals still lingered in the soil and in the creeks six months after a catastrophic derailment.

The Fight To Stop The Sale Of The Only Municipally-Owned Railroad

November 2, 2023 Kari Lydersen, In These Times. Resist! Cincinnati, Norfolk Southern, Privatization, Railroads, Transportation

When Norfolk Southern first proposed to buy Cincinnati’s publicly-owned 336-mile stretch of railroad for nearly one billion dollars in July 2021, it probably seemed like an easy and lucrative deal for both the corporation and city officials — a deal that got even sweeter as the price was eventually upped to $1.6 billion. Under the offer, the company would gain total control of a crucial link in the rail network stretching between Chicago and Atlanta. And the city would get a big chunk of cash for infrastructure and other spending. But as Cincinnati residents prepare to vote on a Nov. 7 referendum necessary to complete the deal, as required by the state constitution, it’s becoming clear that the railroad behemoth and city leaders may not get their way.

Groups In Queen City Fight To Stop Privatization Of Railroad

September 18, 2023 Railroad Workers United, Popular Resistance. Resist! Norfolk Southern, Privatization, Railroads, Transportation

Railroad Workers United is working with local organizations to keep the nation's only municipally owned interstate mainline freight railroad in public hands. The Cincinnati Southern was chartered and built by the City of Cincinnati in the 19th century and has been run successfully for well over a century, historically being leased to a designated operator. Now, today's operator Norfolk Southern wants to take over the infrastructure outright. Citizens across the Queen City are organizing to maintain ownership and control of their railroad. Railroad workers stand with them in their struggle! As the November 7th vote nears, more and more citizens are questioning the wisdom of turning over the city's mainline freight artery between Cincinnati and Chattanooga to corporate outlaw Norfolk Southern.

Victims Of The East Palestine Train Disaster Still Fighting For Their Lives

August 14, 2023 Margaret Flowers, Clearing the FOG. Podcast - Clearing The FOG Cancer, Derailment, East Palestine, EPA, health, Joe Biden, Norfolk Southern, Railroads, sacrifice zone

On February 3, 2023, a Norfolk Southern Railroad train carrying 150 cars, some containing toxic chemicals, derailed in the small town of East Palestine, Ohio on the border with Pennsylvania. The residents in the immediate area were evacuated but the 100,000 gallons of chemicals, including vinyl chloride, that spilled spread throughout the region. Now, over six months later, many residents still cannot return to their homes. Hilary Flint of Enon Valley, Pennsylvania, the vice president of the Unity Council for the East Palestine Train Derailment joined Clearing the FOG to describe what happened, the failures of the local, state and federal governments to provide what affected residents need and how they are organizing to pressure President Biden to grant Governor DeWine's request for an emergency declaration and more.

Rail Workers Group Opposes Sale Of Cincinnati Southern Railway

July 18, 2023 Railroad Workers United, Popular Resistance. Resist! Cincinnati, Norfolk Southern, Public ownership, Railroad

Railroad Workers United opposes the sale of the Cincinnati Southern, the only municipally owned - and one of the nation's few publicly held pieces of rail infrastructure - to the Class One rail giant Norfolk Southern. The group is urging all citizens of Cincinnati who are eligible voters to vote NO in the referendum to be held in November. On July 13th, the railway's Board of Directors voted to place the proposed sale on the ballot this Fall. Per the railroad's bylaws, the citizens of the City will get the final say. Should they approve the plan, the nation's only municipally owned interstate rail line - from Cincinnati to Chattanooga - would then be purchased for a paltry $1.62 billion by the private Class One rail carrier.

Norfolk Southern Won’t Clean Up Their Mess Unless We Make Them

May 31, 2023 Maximillian Alvarez, In These Times. Educate! East Palestine, Environmental Destruction, health, Norfolk Southern, Ohio, Railroads

It’s been over 100 days since the catastrophic derailment of a Norfolk Southern train carrying over 100,000 gallons of toxic materials occurred in East Palestine, Ohio, on Feb 3. Since then, residents of East Palestine and the surrounding area in Ohio and Pennsylvania have had their lives turned completely upside down. Entire families have been uprooted from their homes, with many having to live in hotels or wherever they can find shelter, unable to return home out of fear of exposure to chemicals that were spilled into the water and soil from the derailment and spewed into the air from Norfolk Southern’s “controlled burn” of the vinyl chloride contained within multiple derailed train cars.

Biden DOJ Backing Norfolk Southern’s Bid To Block Lawsuits

February 17, 2023 Rebecca Burns, Julia Rock and David Sirota, The Lever. Educate! Biden administration, Norfolk Southern, Railroads, Supreme Court

A looming Supreme Court decision could end up making it easier for the railroad giant whose train derailed in Ohio this month to block lawsuits, including from victims of the disaster. In the case against Norfolk Southern, the Biden administration is siding with the railroad in its conflict with a cancer-stricken former rail worker. A high court ruling for Norfolk Southern could create a national precedent limiting where workers and consumers can bring cases against corporations. The lawsuit in question, filed initially in a Pennsylvania county court in 2017, deals with a state law that permits plaintiffs to file suit against any corporation registered to do business there, even if the actions that gave rise to the case occurred elsewhere.

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