Members die in accidents
CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Two UTU members and a member of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers (BLE) were killed recently in separate accidents.

A UTU-represented conductor and BLE engineer, both Union Pacific employees, were killed while deadheading from Houston to the Union Pacific terminal in Alexandria, La., in March.

The van in which they were riding slowed down for a highway construction zone on Interstate 10, just east of Lake Charles, La., when it was rear-ended by an 18 wheeler. The van was shoved into the rear of another 18 wheeler, killing UTU member Mikel Deramus, 48, and BLE engineer Raymond J. St. Marie, 48. The van driver died the next day.

Deramus was a member of UTU Local 293 at Houston, Tex. He joined the UTU in 1973. He lived in Conroe, Tex.

St. Marie was a member of BLE Division 366 in Houston, Texas. He joined the BLE on Sept. 1, 1980, as an engineer for the old Southern Pacific. He was Chaplain of Division 366 from 1997-2000.

W.E. "Bill" Dyer, a Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF) conductor and member of Local 949 at Sherman, Tex., was killed early on the morning of April 9, 2001, in a switching accident at a rock quarry.

Dyer was riding the side of a gondola car when he was squeezed up against another railroad car. He called on the radio to the engineer, who backed up the train, releasing Dyer. While waiting for the ambulance, Dyer died in the engineer's arms.

He was 36 years old and had worked on the railroad for four years.

He leaves a wife, Darlene, and three young daughters, the youngest two months old.

Local Chairperson T.W. Johnson said the accident happened at a plant that is an accident waiting to happen, with bad switch targets, unsteady footing, insufficient lighting and standing water.

"It's a constant battle with the carrier all the time," Johnson said. "If we don't get hold of this railroad and get them set straight, I don't know what we are going to do."

Local President John Vest echoed Johnson's sentiments. "I believe the atmosphere that the BNSF has created in the work place played a direct part in this accident. All employees are scrutinized to a point that they are not focused on the job at hand. We are all working longer hours, and the employees on call are suffering from fatigue on account of poor lineups.

"Let's not let this terrible tragedy go in vain," he added, noting that Dyer's untimely passing will be the subject of discussion at the UTU/BLE safetysummit with the carrier.

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