The Solutionary Rail concept would prove highly beneficial for working and retired railroad workers. In contrast to the current operating plan the major rail carriers have embraced, Solutionary Rail holds out the promise of:
- regular schedules
- a safer and healthier work environment
- a secure Railroad Retirement system.
Schedules and Precision Scheduled Railroading: While Precision Scheduled Railroading (PSR) sounds benign (who would not want more precision?), PSR is not bringing more precision to railroading. Instead, railroad workers continue to be plagued by unpredictable pools and extra boards, lengthy tours-of-duty, more time away from home, and a lower quality of work life. Wherever PSR takes hold on a rail carrier, the workforce suffers. Solutionary Rail, by contrast, is pledged to work with the workforce and the unions to provide for more regular schedules, guaranteeing workers more adequate rest, reasonable hours of work, and more time with their families.
Workplace Safety: Solutionary Rail is a concept that is rooted in a win-win for all stakeholders involved. In addition to seeking justice for native tribes, development for depressed rural areas, support for rural electric co-ops and small trackside business, SR is committed to a safe work environment, a crucial aspect in the effort to move the additional freight and passengers at its core. Therefore,Solutionary Rail is committed to a minimum of two-person train crews, regular schedules, an end to crew fatigue, and proper maintenance.
Railroad Retirement: The Railroad Retirement system is one of the benefits of a railroad job. But with job cuts in recent decades, carrier threats to run trains with a single crew member, the wholesale job cuts suffered at the hand of PSR, and political efforts to dismantle Amtrak, the Railroad Retirement system might suffer. Solutionary Rail offers the prospects of tens of thousands of additional rail jobs, bolstering the Railroad Retirement system for decades to come.
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More on these issues at www.solutionaryrail.org/factsnfalsesolutions and www.solutionaryrail.org/video
