GARY, Ind. Michael M. Shoemaker, 55, a conductor and member of UTU Local 1383, was killed Jan. 30 in a switching accident on at U.S. Steels Gary Works here. Reports are that he was wedged between two freight cars.
Shoemaker, of Hobart, Ind., was an 10-year employee, of Gary Railway, which is owned by U.S. Steel.
Reports indicate he was working as a foreman in a three-person conventional switching operation when the car he was riding impacted the side of the standing equipment that the crew had placed on an adjacent track, pinning him.
The accident is being investigated by the Indiana Occupational Safety and Health Administration.
Shoemaker is the first UTU member to be killed in a rail accident in 2012. In 2011, there were 10 rail fatalities among UTU members; and 12 in 2010.
This is sad day for Shoemaker's family, friends and co-workers... Work safely out there brothers and sisters. Stop movement when in doubt.
Take all the time ya need... Go home in one piece after every shift! Your rail brothers and sisters want the best for all of us!
Snippy said
10:45 PM, 02/03/12
For you LAMCOites, fouling is progressing towards a START Serious. (If there is a START policy.)
The Krink said
12:05 PM, 02/05/12
I can imagine about every type of injury working around the railroad. I know I dodged death atleast a dozen times in 26 years working there. That fucking metal banding that wraps bundles of lumber on flatcars that break and drag a 10ft "whipping machete" by you at track speed. Saw way more of those than I ever wanted.
UTU member killed in Ind. rail accident
GARY, Ind. Michael M. Shoemaker, 55, a conductor and member of UTU Local 1383, was killed Jan. 30 in a switching accident on at U.S. Steels Gary Works here. Reports are that he was wedged between two freight cars.
Shoemaker, of Hobart, Ind., was an 10-year employee, of Gary Railway, which is owned by U.S. Steel.
Reports indicate he was working as a foreman in a three-person conventional switching operation when the car he was riding impacted the side of the standing equipment that the crew had placed on an adjacent track, pinning him.
The accident is being investigated by the Indiana Occupational Safety and Health Administration.
Shoemaker is the first UTU member to be killed in a rail accident in 2012. In 2011, there were 10 rail fatalities among UTU members; and 12 in 2010.
http://utu.org/2012/02/03/utu-member-killed-in-ind-rail-accident/
Take all the time ya need... Go home in one piece after every shift! Your rail brothers and sisters want the best for all of us!
the railroad. I know I dodged death atleast a dozen times
in 26 years working there. That fucking metal banding that
wraps bundles of lumber on flatcars that break and drag
a 10ft "whipping machete" by you at track speed. Saw
way more of those than I ever wanted.