THEY CALLED IT FEATHERBEDDING
Something most
Have probably
Never heard of
Was a regular
Topic in my home…
When railroads
Switched from
Steam to diesel
There was deemed
To be an extra man
In the cab…no longer
Was there a physical need
For a fireman…no more
Shoveling coal for steam…
The union called it a
Matter of safety…
Four eyes…not two
The companies fought…
And it appears they won
But think about the
Engineer who ran off
The rails last year…
He missed a signal
Would two more eyes
Have done the same?
We’ll never know…but
What’s done is done
Jobs were lost…but also
How many lives?
The companies called
The move to keep
The fireman in the cab
“Featherbedding”
A term filled with scorn…
Or could it have been
Called common sense?
© 2016 Robert Mihaly