by ThirdRail7
DutchRailnut wrote:absenteeism or sexual conduct or harassment are willful acts.
Mr Rockefeller did NOT do any willful acts to cause the accident.
I'm all for second chances. There is no way he went to work intending to derail. However, I have seen people involved in egregious rule violations keep their jobs while people that have had minor infractions lose their jobs, largely based upon politics. Granted, this is not on Metro-North, which I hope treats its employees fairly. In most cases, the people that were terminated were reinstated when they were able to convince the PLB that the discipline was excessive based upon the the discipline of others. Even recently, someone who was in trouble mentioned that they shouldn't get any more time than the crew that...and I quote "invaded SEPTA territory."
My only point is if the gentleman gets a chance at taking another position, that is very nice...and I hope that such offers are made to other employees as well. While it was a willful act, the actions of the engineer that was reading the newspaper did NOT cause the death of any passengers. I've never seen a report that stated he sped, blew restrictions or failed to stop when and where necessary. In the spirit of forgiveness, unity and second chances, should he not be able to get another job in the company? Would he have "resigned" if he was offered a non safety position? He has experience and can easily stand in front of the crews and teach from the lesson he learned, making him a good candidate for rules examiner. Perhaps he received such offers and it wasn't noted. I've seen this show before(although in a different venue) so it will be interesting to see how it plays out.
I want my road foreman!