RWU: UP Rails Phillip Araujo, 47, and Clay Burt, 63, Killed December 18th in Pecos, TX

Phillip Araujo, 47, and Clay Burt, 63, were killed December 18th in Pecos, Texas.

The two crew members died after their Union Pacific train collided with a tractor-trailer truck on Wednesday (Dec. 18) and derailed, sending railcars into a trackside building.

Pecos Police Chief Lisa Tarango said the deceased workers were “veteran employees” of the railroad. Union Pacific has identified them as engineer Clay Burt, 63, an employee since 1998, and conductor Phillip Araujo, 47, who had been with the railroad since 2012.

The incident occurred about 5 p.m. with a collision near Oak and Dot Stafford streets, and led to derailed cars hitting the Pecos Chamber of Commerce building, a former Texas & Pacific Railway station. Video circulating widely on social media shows the train hitting a truck carrying an oversized load that was blocking the grade crossing.

The Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen, in a statement today, said, “Our hearts go out to the families of the conductor and engineer who lost their lives” in the incident. The union said it is limited in what it can say about the incident because it is a party to the NTSB’s investigation, but that it “should serve as a wake-up call to legislators to improve rail safety all across the United States. All railroad accidents are avoidable.”

While we are saddened at the news of our brothers’ deaths, we must double our resolve to build a safer workplace where such tragedies are not so commonplace.

The Railroad Workers United Program for Fallen Rails urges you to do the following on behalf of our fallen brother, his friends and family, co-workers and all railroad workers:

Commit yourself to following up on how and why our brother or sister was killed. What is the behind-the-scenes story? What role did unsafe conditions, including short staffing, crew fatigue, inadequate training and/or qualifying, deferred maintenance, or other factors play in this fellow worker’s death?

Get involved in the national movement against blame the worker “behavior-based safety” programs. Help build real union-based safety committees and programs that focus on hazard elimination and do not ignore the underlying causes of accidents, injuries and fatalities sustained on the job. For more information, see the RWU webpage entitled “Oppose Behavior Based Safety.”

Take part in the RWU annual Railroad Workers Memorial Day each April 28th. For more information, see the RWU webpage “Fallen Rails.”

Join RWU and fight to build solidarity and unity among all railroad workers, and make safer workplaces for all.

Thank you,
Los Trabajadores Del Ferrocarril De Los Estados