by Maximillian Alvarez | Jul 6, 2026 | east palestine, Economy, Economy and Inequality, Podcast, Politics and Movements: International, Politics and Movements: US, railroad, sacrifice zones, Working People
10 years before the catastrophic train derailment and chemical disaster in East Palestine, Ohio, one of the deadliest rail disasters in North American history took place in the Canadian town of Lac-Mégantic, Quebec.
On July 6, 2013, an unattended freight train that had been parked on the tracks overnight began to roll downhill and gather alarming speed as it careened towards the city center of Lac-Mégantic. The train, which was operated by Montreal, Maine, and Atlantic Railway and carrying over 2 million gallons of crude oil, derailed around 1:15 AM. The resulting explosions and fire killed 47 people and destroyed over 40 buildings, obliterating a large portion of the downtown area and prompting mass evacuations.
In this special episode of Working People, we speak with a panel of survivors of the Lac-Mégantic rail disaster in Canada and the East Palestine rail disaster in the USA.
Panelists include: Robert Bellefleur, a resident of Lac-Mégantic and spokesperson for the Lac-Mégantic Citizens’ Coalition for Railroad Safety; Gilbert Carette, a resident of Lac-Mégantic and a member of the Lac-Mégantic Citizens’ Coalition for Railroad Safety; Gilles Fluet, a resident of Lac-Mégantic who narrowly escaped the 2013 train crash and witnessed the derailment firsthand; Anne-Marie Saint-Cerny, award-winning writer, videographer, social and environmental justice activist, and author of Mégantic: A Deadly Mix of Oil, Rail, and Avarice; Jami Wallace, a displaced resident of East Palestine, Ohio, and founder of the Chemically Impacted Communities Coalition; Christina Siceloff, a Creek Ranger and resident of Beaver County, Pennsylvania, affected by the 2023 Norfolk Southern train derailment and chemical disaster.
If you or members of your community are interested in attending or participating in TRNN’s
by Maximillian Alvarez | Jul 2, 2026 | east palestine, Economy, Economy and Inequality, labor, Politics and Movements: US, sacrifice zones, video, Working People
From the explosion of AI data centers to the increasing number of toxic spills, explosions, and industrial disasters happening across the country, corporations and the government are turning the USA into one giant “sacrifice zone.”
Things are going to get worse before they get any better, and nothing is going to change unless residents of different sacrifice zones and poisoned communities, workers and unions on the frontlines of the industries poisoning us, environmental justice groups, community and faith organizations, scientists, journalists, and all others who have a stake in this fight start coming together, working together, and fighting back together. In this special panel discussion, recorded at the 2026 Railroad Workers United convention in Chicago, Illinois, we speak with a panel of guests who are part of a new coalition that is doing just that.
Panelists include: Jeff Kurtz, a retired locomotive engineer, union officer, and Railroad Workers United member who also served as a state representative in the Iowa House of Representatives; Jami Wallace, a resident of East Palestine, Ohio, and founder of the Chemically Impacted Communities Coalition (CICC); Dr. Nicole Fabricant, a professor of anthropology at Towson University and scholar-activist who has been working with chemically impacted communities in South Baltimore, Maryland, for 15 years; Scott Smith, independent testing expert and founder of the Blue Shirt Justice League; and Lesley Pacey, Senior Environmental Officer at the Government Accountability Project.
Additional links/info:
Railroad Workers United website, Facebook page, and X page
Chemically Impacted Communities Coalition (CICC) Facebook page
Blue Shirt Justice League website and Facebook page
Government Accountability Project website, Facebook page, X page, Bluesky page, and Instagram
Coal-Free Curtis Bay Facebook page and Instagram
South Baltimore Community
by Maximillian Alvarez | Jul 1, 2026 | AI, east palestine, Economy, Economy and Inequality, Podcast, Politics and Movements: US, sacrifice zones, Working People
From the explosion of AI data centers to the increasing number of toxic spills, explosions, and industrial disasters happening across the country, corporations and the government are turning the USA into one giant “sacrifice zone.” In “red” states and “blue” states, in rural areas and urban areas, poor and working people are suffering the toxic effects of a crisis that has resulted from decades of deregulation, corporate capture of government, and the protection of private profits over the lives and health of the public.
No one is coming to save us, and nothing is going to change unless residents of different sacrifice zones and poisoned communities, workers and unions on the front lines of the industries poisoning us, environmental justice groups, community and faith organizations, scientists, journalists, and all others who have a stake in this fight start coming together, working together, and fighting back together. In this special panel discussion, recorded at the 2026 Railroad Workers United convention in Chicago, Illinois, we speak with a panel of guests who are part of a new coalition that is doing just that.
Panelists include: Jeff Kurtz, a retired locomotive engineer, union officer, and Railroad Workers United member who also served as a state representative in the Iowa House of Representatives; Jami Wallace, a displaced resident of East Palestine, Ohio, and founder of the Chemically Impacted Communities Coalition (CICC); Dr. Nicole Fabricant, a professor of anthropology at Towson University and scholar-activist who has been working with chemically impacted communities in South Baltimore, Maryland, for 15 years; Scott Smith, independent testing expert and founder of the Blue Shirt Justice League; and Lesley Pacey, Senior Environmental
by Maximillian Alvarez | Mar 3, 2026 | east palestine, Economy and Inequality, Inequality, Politics and Movements: US, sacrifice zones, video
Three years ago, on Feb. 3, 2023, the Norfolk Southern train derailment and chemical disaster—one of the worst industrial disasters in US history—took place in the small town of East Palestine, OH. Since that fateful day, residents have been exploited and abandoned by Norfolk Southern, the government, opportunistic politicians, sensationalist media outlets, and self-serving attorneys, but we haven’t forgotten them. On the three-year anniversary of the day that changed their small-town lives forever, TRNN Editor-in-Chief Maximillian Alvarez was on the ground in East Palestine speaking with residents about their lives and needs today. Here is what they said…
Additional links/info:
Ohio Valley Derailment Mutual Aid Facebook page and fundraiser
Chemically Impacted Communities Coalition (CICC) website
Golomb Research Group (UCSD) website and East Palestine Health Effects Study website
Maximillian Alvarez, The Real News Network, “America’s toxic future looks like East Palestine, Ohio, today” (click for a full list of all of Max’s East Palestine reporting for TRNN over the last three years)
Josh Funk & Julie Carr Smyth, AP, “Lawsuit blames deaths on Ohio train derailment as Vance says US needs ‘to do better on rail safety’”
Credits:
Filmed by Maximillian Alvarez
Post-Production by David Hebden
Transcript
The following is a rushed transcript and may contain errors. A proofread version will be made available as soon as possible.
Jami Wallace:
I am Jami Wallace from East Palestine, Ohio. It was three years ago today on February 3rd, 2023, that a Norfolk Southern train derailed in my community carrying hazardous chemicals. It’s now been three years. We are still here. We still need help. Our health is failing. I have been diagnosed with multiple different long-term illnesses that all can be related to the chemicals.
Ashley
by Maximillian Alvarez | Feb 6, 2026 | east palestine, Economy and Inequality, Podcast, Politics and Movements: US, sacrifice zones, Working People
Feb. 3, 2026 marked the three-year anniversary of the Norfolk Southern train derailment and chemical disaster in East Palestine, OH—one of the worst industrial disasters in US history. Over the last three years, residents have been exploited and abandoned by Norfolk Southern, the government, opportunistic politicians, sensationalist media outlets, and self-serving attorneys, but we haven’t forgotten them. On the three-year anniversary of the day that changed their small-town lives forever, TRNN Editor-in-Chief Maximillian Alvarez was on the ground in East Palestine speaking with residents about their lives and needs today. Here is what they said…
Additional links/info:
Ohio Valley Derailment Mutual Aid Facebook page and fundraiser
Chemically Impacted Communities Coalition (CICC) website
Golomb Research Group (UCSD) website and East Palestine Health Effects Study website
Maximillian Alvarez, The Real News Network, “America’s toxic future looks like East Palestine, Ohio, today” (click for a full list of all of Max’s East Palestine reporting for TRNN over the last three years)
Featured Music:
Jules Taylor, Working People Theme Song
Credits:
Audio Post-Production: Jules Taylor
Transcript
The following is a rushed transcript and may contain errors. A proofread version will be made available as soon as possible.
Jim Stewart (CNN Town Hall):
I’m angry. I’m angry about this. I lived in East Palestine for 65 years now that’s my home. My grandmother came from Germany. She lived in Palestine. My dad grew up there. My family’s grown up there. Now I live in a house that’s probably the closest of any of these, and it’s a shame I don’t feel safe in this town. Now you took it away from me. You took this away from this. You seem like a sincere man. I’m not calling you
by Maximillian Alvarez | Feb 3, 2026 | east palestine, Economy and Inequality, Podcast, Politics and Movements: US, sacrifice zones
It’s been three years since a Norfolk Southern “bomb train” carrying toxic chemicals derailed in the small town of East Palestine, OH, on the night of Feb. 3, 2023. Three days later, Norfolk Southern pressured local authorities to make the disastrous and completely unnecessary decision to vent five giant carloads of vinyl chloride into a ditch and set the contents on fire, releasing a massive chemical plume into the air, exposing residents in East Palestine and the surrounding areas to deadly toxins in one of the worst industrial disasters in US history. Three years later, residents are still getting sick, many have been financially ruined, they have been abandoned by their government and Norfolk Southern, and forgotten by the public. And, as Katya Schwenk details in a blockbuster new report for The Lever, residents are still waiting for the restitution they were promised from the $600 million settlement that Norfolk Southern agreed to pay to resolve residents’ class-action lawsuit over the derailment.
Guest:
Katya Schwenk is a journalist based in Phoenix, AZ, and a reporter for The Lever. Her reporting and essays have appeared in The Intercept, the Baffler, the American Prospect, and elsewhere.
Additional links/info:
Katya Schwenk, The Lever / The Real News Network, “Three years later, life in East Palestine, Ohio, is still derailed”
Maximillian Alvarez, The Real News Network, “America’s toxic future looks like East Palestine, Ohio, today”
Credits:
Audio Post-Production: Alina Nehlich
Transcript
The following is a rushed transcript and may contain errors. A proofread version will be made available as soon as possible.
Maximillian Alvarez:
Welcome everyone to the Real News Network podcast. I’m Maximillian Alvarez. I’m the editor in chief here at The Real News,
