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| Ann Shay | |
A Widow's Crusade
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On August 20, 1996, Ann and Jonathan Shay felt this devastation. On that day, they lost husband and father Thomas Shay, a member of BLE Division 284 (Grafton, W.Va.).
As a way of dealing with her grief, Ann Shay established the Thomas L. Shay Memorial Fund. The fund will recognize railroad union members who significantly promote safety or stand up for the rights of injured workers and their families.
"This fund was developed to inspire others to keep from meeting with the same fate as Tom, who was a great father and loving husband," Ann said. "My goal is to find ways to improve safety for the men and women working on the railroads."
Each calendar year, the fund may grant as many as three awards - $2,500, $1,000 and $500 - for the three best safety or accident prevention suggestions. The winners will be chosen by Ann Shay with help from a panel of union leaders. These suggestions will then be personally presented by Ann to rail unions, carriers, the FRA, the National Transportation Safety Board and members of Congress. All union members and union organizations are eligible.
Ann received a sizable monetary settlement as a result of a FELA case against CSX. She used $50,000 to establish the Thomas L. Shay Memorial Fund.
"Ann is a very strong, upbeat, religious person, and that has helped her
cope. I am proud of the way she has handled herself through all of this," said
Bill Jungbauer, Ann's attorney.
Less than a year after her husband's death, Ann embarked on a crusade to improve railroad safety. On April 28, 1997, she, along with the family members of other deceased engineers, spoke at the BLE's Operation Thanos rally and march in Washington, D.C. This rally commemorated BLE members who were killed in accidents on the job and sent a strong message to the rail industry that the carriers can expect a significant reaction to preventable accidents.
"Ann was very grateful to the BLE and was proud to be a part of the Operation Thanos rally," said Jungbauer.
Ann also appeared in the Summer 1997 Locomotive Engineers Journal as a guest columnist. In that article, she told of the experience of Tom's death, and gave advice about standing up for safety on the rails.
"My advice to all engineers is to stand up for what you think is right, but most importantly, tell your families that you love them everyday when you go to work because, until safety becomes a priority, your lives are in danger," Shay wrote.
Tom Shay had been a CSX engineer for nine years when his train was hit head on by another CSX train near Smithfield, W.Va. The eastbound train had orders to stay on a siding until Shay's westbound train had passed, but due to a miscommunication, the eastbound train exited the siding too early. There were no signals in that section of track and the trains were operating on verbal authority from CSX dispatchers several thousand miles away in Jacksonville, Fla. The collision led to the death of Tom Shay and his conductor, Brennis A. Stevens. The engineer and conductor aboard the other train were both injured.
After the accident, CSX changed its rules involving situations such as this. Crewmen of the train that yields the right of way must contact dispatchers after seeing a train pass before obtaining authority to leave the siding. This rule change did nothing to extinguish Ann Shay's grief.
"I can't bring my husband back, but by endowing the Thomas L. Shay Memorial Fund from my settlement with the railroad, I feel like Tom's life was not lost in vain," said Shay. "I would like to encourage all union members to participate, so that together we can make something positive come out of all this."
© 1999 Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers