“My Dad Is Essential”

Somnang “Sam” Pha is a Union Pacific track machine operator and BMWED (Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employes Division of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters) member presently working near Arlington, Ore., out of Blue Springs, Mo. Sam and his wife Kristina have four children, Lliyah, Khyson, Zayden and Isaiah. Kristina sent these photos to Union Pacific Senior Director Corporate Communications and Media Relations Raquel Espinoza, who has shared them with permission.

The photos and Lliyah’s drawing, Raquel says, provide “a look at essential workers through the lens of a child who watches dad depart from home to work on the railroad, ensuring Americans continue to have access to food and other vital products during this challenging time.” Railway Age, in the midst this awful pandemic, is happy to publish them, to provide some hope and encouragement, and to focus a spotlight on the thousands of railroad workers all across North America who are doing their best to keep their railroads functional and safe.

“Lliyah wanted to make a post about railroad workers during this difficult time, to support her dad and bring awareness to our forgotten essential railroad workers,” says Kristina. “Her dad travels to highly affected areas every time he leaves for work. People don’t realize how much contact railroad workers have with other individuals. They leave home to go to different places every day, making a huge sacrifice to be out there while COVID-19 is on the rise, risking themselves and making the possibility of bringing it home to their loved ones even greater. We are very proud to be a part of the Union Pacific family and would love if Railway Age shared our pictures. Lliyah has enjoyed seeing this being shared and reading all the positive feedback. Pray for our railroad workers and their families.”

I believe I know what Kristina Pha means by “forgotten essential railroad workers.” It doesn’t mean forgotten by the freight railroads, or their customers and suppliers. It means unrecognized, unacknowledged, by the general public, which even in “normal” times (whatever that means) does not understand or appreciate what they do. Passenger rail, including transit, is a different story. There’s plenty of information available about the workers in that segment of our industry who are putting their lives at risk to transport people. Some have given their lives, among them more than 40 New York MTA employees who have died from COVID-19. As we memorialize them, let’s not forget about people like Sam Pha, working behind the scenes.

Yes, Lliyah, your dad is essential—to you, your family, to all of us.

Be well, and be safe.