The Brotherhood of Railroad Signalmen (BRS) condemns CSX Transportation’s (CSXT) decision to dismantle Operation RedBlock, the last remaining labor-management substance use referral program in the freight rail industry.
For more than forty years, Operation RedBlock served as a practical, effective, and trusted mechanism for identifying and addressing substance use and related fitness-for-duty concerns before they resulted in accidents, injuries, or irreversible harm. Its longevity was not accidental. It endured because it worked, because employees trusted it, and because it improved safety outcomes for the railroad, its workforce, and the public.
Operation RedBlock was built on a simple but essential principle: safety improves when employees are empowered to step away from service and seek help without fear of immediate discipline or retaliation. The program’s confidential self-referral and peer intervention structure created accountability where punitive systems often fail. Employees came forward early, problems were addressed before escalation, and unsafe conditions were removed from the operating environment.
That trust-based model was not theoretical. Federal regulators repeatedly recognized the value of voluntary self-referral and peer reporting programs as a critical complement to federally mandated drug and alcohol testing requirements. Programs like Operation RedBlock consistently demonstrated higher intervention rates than random or reasonable suspicion testing alone, resulting in measurable safety benefits and meaningful human outcomes.
CSXT’s decision to absorb Operation RedBlock into a carrier-controlled Employee Assistance Program (EAP) undermines the very foundation that made the program effective. When the same entity controls discipline, attendance, job security, and access to assistance, employees are far less likely to self-report or intervene on behalf of a coworker. Fear replaces trust, and issues that could have been addressed early are driven underground until they surface as serious incidents.
This is not a new experiment for the industry. Similar peer-based programs once existed at other railroads and were ultimately dismantled or absorbed by management under the belief that internal systems could replicate their success. The results were predictable. Participation declined, trust eroded, and the effectiveness of intervention programs suffered. CSXT is now repeating a mistake the industry has already made.
The elimination of Operation RedBlock also reflects a broader shift away from meaningful investment in employee well-being. Decades ago, railroads employed trained professionals who understood the demands and realities of railroad work and maintained consistent, personal engagement with employees in crisis. Today, many carriers rely on outsourced EAP models that prioritize compliance over outcomes and lack accountability to the workforce they are meant to serve.
Federal law requires railroads to maintain EAP’s. It does not require those programs to be effective. Operation RedBlock filled that gap by providing a trusted, independent structure focused on prevention, accountability, and care.
As BRS Vice President Doug VanderJagt stated, “The decision to alter Operation RedBlock from its collaborative structure has nothing to do with what is best for employees and everything to do with CSXT’s continued pursuit of cost reduction. The inevitable result will be damage to morale, erosion of trust, and increased risk to safety.”
The Brotherhood of Railroad Signalmen extends its gratitude to the RedBlock captains, administrators, and peer coordinators who sustained this program over decades. Their work saved lives, preserved careers, and protected families. Their contributions mattered, and their impact continues even as the program itself is dismantled.
The BRS strongly urges CSXT to reconsider this decision. Proven safety programs built on trust, accountability, and cooperation should not be discarded in favor of control-driven systems that history has already shown to be ineffective.
Rail safety depends on people. Programs that recognize this truth are worth preserving.
###
