The issue here is a union officer receiving funds for allowing a trail attorney to appear on a list of approved lawyers to handle FELA (i.e., injury) cases. For those not familiar, railroad workplace safety is not administered by workman's compensation. Rather it is handled by FELA whereby an employee can sue the railroad for damages after a claimed injury. This can very lucrative for trial attorneys who, of course, would share in any damage award.

As a former field supervisor I have personally been involved in cases where a trainman broke his big toe (probably from dropping a switch handle on his boot) and claimed it was a career-ending injury. He listed all the symptoms (that don’t show up on an X-ray) such as tingling of the extremities, numbness, etc. I moved on before that case was settled and so do not know how it turned out. I do know about another case where a man was occupying the cab of a stationery locomotive involved in a minor collision by a set of lite engines. He too claimed an inability to work but lost the case even though he appeared in court pale and wearing a neck brace. He reported back for work fine and ready to go a few days after the trial.

In the case of the UTU president several years ago it is interesting that some trial attorneys served as witnesses that Byron Boyd had shaken them down for donations. It must have been poignant to see such people tearfully claiming to have been abused by the union president (once they were found out) when in reality they were probably tossing bundles of cash over the garden wall in order to stay on that lucrative list of approved attorneys.