Comment EI-33661
Received or sent (printed as 1/17/2025)
I am concerned about the replacement of Union Pacific (Class I Railroad) workers with workers from CORPs (Class III Railroad). Because the railyard is near an urban location and affects several neighborhoods, it is not appropriate to use workers who are not as experienced. Because of the recent derailment in Corvallis, Oregon under the management of a Class II railroad, I am very concerned. There are many reasons and questions not to substitute qualified workers for less qualified personnel, some of which are as follows: - CORP’s employees lack the training, experience, and union protections of Union Pacific workers. - Replacing skilled workers with less-experienced, non-union employees increases the risk of accidents and unsafe operations in our neighborhoods. - Union Pacific is responsible for ongoing groundwater cleanup efforts in Eugene. - Will CORP take on this responsibility, or will they abandon these critical environmental protections like they did in Coos Bay? - CORP’s mismanagement of the Coos Bay branch line shows a pattern of failure to maintain infrastructure and safeguard communities. - CORP\'s track record demonstrates negligence in upholding safety, customer service, and environmental stewardship. - The risk of accidents involving hazardous materials increases when safety standards are cut. - A Class III railroad like CORP lacks the financial resources to respond to a disaster, leaving taxpayers to bear the cost. PLEASE VALUE SAFETY AND UNION JOBS FOREMOST OVER CORPORATE PROFITS! Sincerely, Juliet A. Thompson
Submitted by: Juliet Thompson · River Road Community Organization · Eugene, OR
The Board publishes this comment in its environmental-comment table for this proceeding. It is quoted here as printed; nothing is inferred from it, and it states the commenter's own position in their own words, not this record's.
Permanent address docketyard.org/d/FD-36818/comment/EI-33661 · back to the docket sheet