He crossed another union's picket line, untrained workers killed him on the job

[Omaha Steve]

Just read between the lines. Mods I have permission to post in entirety AFSCME articles anytime from Tracey at AFSCME.

http://www.afscme.org/news/publications/newsletters/works/works-winter-2014/san-francisco-ca-in-memoriam-chris-sheppard-and-laurence-daniels



San Francisco, California: In Memoriam: Chris Sheppard and Laurence Daniels

AFSCME and the Bay Area mourn the loss of Chris Sheppard, a member of Local 3993 (Council 57), and Laurence Daniels, a BART contractor.

The two men were killed after being hit by a train in the midst of last fall’s difficult contract negotiations between Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) and Local 3993.

The fatalities occurred during the second day of a strike by employees of SEIU 1021 and ATU 1555. While AFSCME Local 3993 did not declare a strike, they encouraged their members to honor the picket lines while they continued negotiations with BART.

“Our hearts go out to the families of both workers as well as to the person operating the train,” said Patricia Schuchardt, president of the local. “This is a tragedy.”

Schuchardt added, “We are saddened and outraged to learn that the train was possibly operated by management personnel.”

This, despite repeated warnings by BART unions to top management and the board of directors about the danger of inexperienced personnel running the system in the event of a strike.

Since the tragedy occurred, the National Transportation Safety Board launched an investigation into the fatalities.

SEIU and ATU reached an agreement with BART bringing an end to the Bay Area strike. Local 3993 reached an agreement later.

Sheppard is survived by his wife and two children.

More information about contributing to the victim’s family is available at AFSCME3993.org.