Letters to the Editor
Light At the End of Grandstand

To the Editor:

Lighting on the tracks is a safety issue for members in all divisions of Maintenance of Way, and for all officers, though you would never know it reading The Chief last week. The "TWU Presses Feds on Tunnel Lighting" article made it seem like one officer was all alone carrying the torch.

The fact is that Transport Workers' Union Local 100 has taken up this issue, not just one officer. Our union, not just one officer, brought in the former head of the Federal Mine Safety and Health Administration to bring his expertise to bear on lighting issues. We sent a high-level delegation headed by our local president to a West Virginia coal mine to examine the underground lighting up close; not just one officer.

In John Samuelsen's version, there is only enough light to illuminate himself. It seems more like election season grandstanding than fighting for better lights. You can tell by Samuelsen's focus: the Feds.

Neither OSHA nor the Federal Railroad Administration exercise direct oversight on NYC subways. It is left to New York State's PESH, which in turn tries to abdicate in favor of self-policing by NYC Transit. This is why Local 100's fight has focused on NYC Transit and PESH. Samuelsen knows this.

As Samuelsen also knows, OSHA has never issued a letter of clarification regarding NYC Transit. Any member waiting for such a letter is going to be waiting for a long time. When OSHA is concerned, the term "binding" does not belong in the same sentence as "clarification." OSHA letters of interpretation begin with the following disclaimer:

OSHA requirements are set by statute, standards, and regulations. Our interpretation letters explain these requirements and how they apply to particular circumstances, but they cannot create additional employer obligations. This letter constitutes OSHA's interpretation of the requirements discussed.

OSHA implementation letters are not even "binding" in industries where OSHA claims oversight, let alone NYC subways. Samuelsen says in The Chief that "NYC Transit and the state Department of Labor have ignored his requests for stronger lighting." "His requests"? Doesn't he mean the request of TWU Local 100?

Imagine how Samuelsen would complain if The Chief puts out articles implying that Roger Toussaint alone was fighting for track safety. Track lighting is a lifeand death issue for transit workers. Samuelsen shouldn't play politics with it, and The Chief should not let itself be used that way.

JEFFERY LEE, Vice Chair, Track Division, TWU Local 100