The American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association (ASLRRA) recently honored SIU-contracted New York New Jersey Rail (NYNJR) with the Jake Safety Award Certificate with Distinction for the year 2008. The award is for any railroad that has no reportable Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) injuries or accidents during the year of 2008.The SIU represents conductors, engineers, brakemen and bridgemen at NYNJR – the unique “floating” railroad between Brooklyn, N.Y., and Jersey City, N.J., in New York Harbor.
Donald Hutton, representing management for NYNJR, stated, “This award is a reflection not just on the management, but every employee of the railroad. The employees have worked as a team to maintain a safe environment and look out not only for their own safety, but that of their co-workers.”
He added, “New York New Jersey Rail remains committed in making sure that employee training and education on proper safety continues. The SIU members of NYNJR are thanked for the great safety work last year. Congratulations!”
SIU Vice President Atlantic Coast Joseph Soresi said the award “definitely is well-deserved. The members at New York New Jersey Rail are totally committed to safety, as are both the union and the company. Safety is always the top priority for all of us.”
The Jake Safety Award program began in 1995 and was created by and named for Lowell S. “Jake” Jacobson, a previous recipient of Railway Age Magazine’s Railroader of the Year, according to the ASLRRA. Jake started giving these awards, out of his own pocket, to recognize outstanding safety achievements in the short line railroad industry, which had gone unrecognized before. In 1999, the ASLRRA Safety Committee adopted the Jake Awards and since then has continued Jacobson’s legacy of rewarding and drawing attention to the high safety standards of the small railroad industry.
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