Whereas, the major rail carriers have made it clear in their words and actions that they wish to conduct operations to the extent possible, “conductor only” in remote control (RCO) yard operations, and “engineer only” on road trains; and

Whereas, the major U.S. rail carriers have long stated their intentions to operate road trains with a single employee, when more than decade ago they made their intentions known to both unions of the operating crafts through a “Section 6” notice addressed to the unions dated 11/1/04; and

Whereas, in the words of a Joint Petition filed with Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) in June 2009 by both unions of the operating crafts, “No conditions exist where one-person operations are safe;” and

Whereas, both unions of the operating crafts support a bill before Congress known as “The Safe Freight Act” (HR #3040), that would outlaw single employee train operations in the U.S.; and

Whereas, the FRA itself proclaimed on 4/9/14 that “safety is enhanced with the use of a multiple person crew — safety dictates that you never allow a single point of failure.”

Whereas, the implementation of single employee operations will invariably result in a serious degrading of worker safety, security, and quality of work life;

Whereas, these unsafe working conditions referenced above would pose a danger to shippers, pedestrians, motorists, trackside communities, the environment and the general public;

Therefore, Be it Resolved, that Martinez Environmental Group opposes any current use, and any further expansion of, single employee operations anywhere in North America, in the yard or on the road; and

Be in Further Resolved that Martinez Environmental Group is committed to support the efforts of railroad workers and their organizations to ensure a two employee minimum on every train crew; and

Be it Finally Resolved that Martinez Environmental Group calls on other community organizations, civic groups, environmental organizations and labor unions to join with us in this crucial fight against single employee operation of trains.

 Adopted by Martinez Environmental Group on March 30, 2015