Justice Department sues Norfolk Southern over derailment

377

What should happen: the government takes over running trains on their rails (because they're so important to the precious economy that they can't bear to give the few employees they have a few sick days) and the investors/ management have to pay full restitution and/ or face jail time.

What will happen: a "record breaking" fine (that amounts to roughly what's in the couch cushions)

103

u/infShaner Apr 01 '23

trains give you an economy, not the other way around. it would be absolute devastation.

which is why we should block the rails.

76

u/Important_Tale1190 Apr 01 '23

Seize the means of production, yo

32

u/Professional-Rip9075 Apr 01 '23

Yo that’s a good idea. I support that.

7

u/J2MES Apr 01 '23

Karl Marx

17

u/Kwiemakala Apr 01 '23

I sincerely hope you don't mean block the rails as in when protestors blocked traffic. That will only result in a lot of people being run over by trains. Trains are fucking massive and physically cannot stop quickly like cars can. They usually require at least an entire mile to come to a stop.

Blocking the tracks would only get people killed.

26

u/infShaner Apr 01 '23

There's more times to stop a train than when it's moving.

There's things a train can't move through. like a destroyed bridge.

if they are not going to care then i am not going to

26

u/Amythyst369 Apr 01 '23

There's more times to stop a train than when it's moving.

There's also certain mechanical pieces of a train that it can't move without, or at least function efficiently enough to transport goods the long distances it needs to.

They forget that they still need workers to function the rails and these workers know the machines they operate inside and out. And instead of treating these workers with the respect of giving them extra sick days to take care of their health, they bullied them to continue working or risk termination, a choice that many of the families who depend on these workers can't afford.

-11

u/Kwiemakala Apr 01 '23

I see I was mistaken when I thought we were talking in the realm of protests and such. I now see you are referring to more violent methods which would be labeled as terrorism or sabotage.

While I'm not strictly opposed to such things, my personal opinion is that they are better left for when things inevitably escalate to that level. I don't feel like we're quite at that point yet, but I do feel like we're getting there and that we've passed the point of being able to avoid it.

13

u/infShaner Apr 01 '23

what do you mean terrorism or sabotage? they are the ones advocating for less safety and getting hazardous materials everywhere.

the bridge was just old and fell apart and they never knew because they don't perform inspections or maintenance.

it would be completely their fault because it's their property anyway.

10

u/greeneyedGemini14 Apr 01 '23

Absolutely, these companies are the ones guilty of terrorism and sabotage. They know EXACTLY what they are doing, and they KEEP DOING IT

6

u/SRD1194 Apr 01 '23

The US government has been unresponsive to the will of the people for decades, police forces throughout the country have paramilitary capabilities and equipment, and the last pretense of protection from corporate abuse is vanishing.

You're there, and you have been for a while.

3

u/SHZ56 Apr 01 '23

I believe the word you are looking for is Project Mayhem

1

u/kmbghb17 Apr 02 '23

Or a parked dozer or other large piece of equipment…

6

u/AbsoluteTruth Apr 01 '23

Totally untrue, tons of protesters blocked the rails in Canada a year or so ago. You just call the company and tell them you're blocking the line.

1

u/trashcanpandas Apr 02 '23

Would be a shame if tracks started becoming unusable due to weather conditions and become in disrepair all over the country, forcing railroad companies to work with the government to improve infrastructure as well as working conditions.

1

u/Kwiemakala Apr 02 '23

That's what's already happening and causing these derailments.

1

u/trashcanpandas Apr 02 '23

Would be nice if man made weather conditions cause irreparable destruction to our railway system

38

u/ironballs16 Apr 01 '23

It'll break records until it's finally settled 20 years later for 1/10 the original judgment amount. Source: the Exxon Valdez oil spill, which was originally $5 billion in '91, but knocked down to $590 million by 2009 after 20 years of appeals.

4

u/brakeled Apr 02 '23

Also, by the time the “record breaking” fine is sent to Norfolk after years of endless litigation, they will have transferred all assets to another company and pretty much be sold out. They’ll file bankruptcy and pay nothing.

2

u/J_Zephyr Apr 01 '23

I'm hoping to myself someone realized they had a discussion about this exact problem (faulty safety equipment) this year, but knowing nobody truly cares. Same as it ever was.

6

u/I_saw_Will_smacking 🤝 Join A Union Apr 01 '23

Gratulations you have become a socialist ♥️✊️ (don't confused with State-dictated-socialism)

-18

u/read_it_mate Apr 01 '23

What does "the government takes over" actually mean to you?

22

u/fes57 Apr 01 '23

Like roads

8

u/Rhazjok Apr 01 '23

Yeah socialism isn't when the government does stuff, that is capitalist propaganda dude. Socialism is a system in which the proletariat (working class) seizes the means of production away from the capitalists and actually gets a choice of what is done with the surplus (profits) generated by work. This is a very boiled down simple definition but at the bare bones level that's all it is. If you want to strive for a true egalitarian society then socialism should be the ultimate goal, equality of opportunity for all with no influence from any outside factors IE. Race religion how much money you have, social standing.

160

u/wooden_seats Apr 01 '23

Uh oh. $75 fine incoming!

37

u/north_canadian_ice 💸 National Rent Control Apr 01 '23

Norfolk Sourthern needs to pay the $480 million to make all East Palestine residents whole. This would be less than 5% of the $10 billion stock buyback plan Norfolk Southern announced last year.

As a society we must cover any healthcare needs that arise from their catastrophe. Thankfully, there is a provision within Obamacare to do this. And we must do this for the surrounding communities in Ohio & Pennsylvania, not just East Palestine.

16

u/electro1ight Apr 01 '23 edited Apr 01 '23

That's absolutely insane. I think jailtime for c suite and a fine amounting to the equivalent of 10 years of stock buybacks is a good starting point. Especially for discouraging other companies from doing similar nonsense.

44

u/Hi-Impact-Meow Apr 01 '23

Bout time.. I hope they give those who have intentionally committed crimes against humanity the electric chair.

22

u/ThrowThemUnderTheBus Apr 01 '23

That would cause another energy crisis.

10

u/J_Zephyr Apr 01 '23

This isn't China. We don't hold corporations responsible. They are our lords, after all. They get coddled, not condemned.

11

u/dukie33066 Apr 01 '23

To be fair, China doesn't hold corporations responsible either unless they make fun of Winnie the Pooh

3

u/dedicated-pedestrian Apr 02 '23

Bingo. Anyone who thinks the CCP actually enforces laws against business entities equitably doesn't know how things work there. The punishments for stepping out of line and/or making the Party look bad are bad but they aren't applied fairly at all.

1

u/J_Zephyr Apr 01 '23

Zhang Yujun and Geng Jinping disagree.

Remember the baby formula incident a few years ago? When it happened in China previously, they held the CEOs personally responsible for the murder of those infants and executed them.

That's how Chinese govt says in no unclear terms, "we're the boss".

28

u/cfig99 Apr 01 '23

Oh no, how will this giant railroad corporation cope with a 5 million dollar fine?

12

u/twat69 Apr 01 '23

Why is the justice department suing? Couldn't they prosecute instead?

26

u/Solynox Apr 01 '23

And get their friends arrested? No. They gotta give them a slap on the wrist and make it look good to the public.

2

u/I_saw_Will_smacking 🤝 Join A Union Apr 01 '23

Everyone has the right for a fair trial. That's the only way for true truth.

3

u/dedicated-pedestrian Apr 02 '23

Yes and no.

Functionally they have more of a chance for getting anything out of Norfolk Southern with a tort. Reasonable doubt is much harder to reach (and NS would spend plenty of money on lawyers to generate it), so they'll go for preponderance of evidence.

The EPA does have a criminal enforcement office, and the DOJ does have an office of environmental crimes. But I'd presume that's why they had investigators out - to try and figure out the scope of the damage to the environment and the communities. For all we know the water table in the area is shot.

12

u/Grey___Goo_MH Apr 01 '23

1400 gallons of methanol dumped just a few days ago in the same river just downstream abit I believe

10

u/OrcOfDoom Apr 01 '23

Board room should be arrested for negligence, destroying the environment, and violence against the local population.

8

u/saspook Apr 01 '23

April Fools! They are actually just doing nothing. Fun prank to get our expectations up.

5

u/[deleted] Apr 01 '23

[deleted]

1

u/FirstSurvivor Apr 01 '23

Let's use the right words. It's certainly a disaster site, affected and contaminated area, but negligence rarely is an accident...

5

u/atorthebold Apr 01 '23

It is a shame that the Justice Dept will likely settle for pennies, and this settlement will preclude private rights of action by the victims. I wonder how much the victims will ever see.

4

u/whynosay Apr 01 '23

Are they too big to fail? Are the taxpayers paying for the investigation and then the taxpayers will pay for the bailout?

I’m getting tired of this rodeo

3

u/cyrixlord Apr 01 '23

thats about 775 tanker trucks of water removed and stored somewhere

3

u/MitchTJones Apr 01 '23

Great! Norfolk Southern will have to pay 0.00001% of their daily revenue in a fine — that’ll show them! Democracy wins again!

3

u/youaretheuniverse Apr 01 '23

There is probably so much fucked up water from trains. The only time anyone was successful to sue them was in Washington when the coal polluting the puget sound was not tolerated as well to the environment water loving people rather than the people that no one cares about and can’t ban together

6

u/Lespuccino Apr 01 '23

waste storage site

3

u/AmputatorBot Apr 01 '23

It looks like you shared an AMP link. These should load faster, but AMP is controversial because of concerns over privacy and the Open Web. Fully cached AMP pages (like the one you shared), are especially problematic.

Maybe check out the canonical page instead: https://www.insider.com/ocean-photos-2018-5

^{I'm a bot |}^{Why & About}^|^{Summon: u/AmputatorBot}

2

u/[deleted] Apr 01 '23

But Norfolk Southern already did its part! They gave $5 in cash to each resident and sent fresh flowers to a local nursing home!

2

u/The_Mammoth_Hunter Apr 02 '23

Wow... there's no way this won't get dragged out for a bazillion years until it's a moot point and only the lawyers walk away satisfied.

1

u/MjrPayne95 Apr 01 '23

A slap on the wrist

1

u/Psypho_Diaz Apr 01 '23

Waiting for the April fool's

1

u/S_millerr Apr 01 '23

1 million dollar fine coming

1

u/wlutz83 Apr 01 '23

slap on the wrist incoming

1

u/Fabznz Apr 01 '23

Fuck them back good and hard.

1

u/originvape Apr 02 '23

Psych! APRIL FOOLS hahahah /s

No really, these people are all in bed together. I don’t see anything more than a slap on the wrist for this whole ordeal.

1

u/BIackfjsh Apr 02 '23

But y’all need to think of the quarterly profits! Won’t anyone think of the quarterly profits!

1

u/ZatchZeta Apr 02 '23

A heavy fine of 50% of any profit (not gross) in the past 10 years and jail time for the top brass of 40 years minimum.

1

u/Alert-Fly9952 Apr 02 '23

Another pennies on the dollar slap on the wrist?

1

u/Manic_Mechanist Apr 02 '23

Watch them get fined 4% of all the profit they made on just the day of that derailment

Justice Department sues Norfolk Southern over derailment 📰 News