(The following story by Bob Wheaton appeared on the Flint Journal website on November 15. M.J. Tyler is Local Chairman of BLE Division 650 in Durand, Mich. Late Brother Tom Landris was also a member of Division 650.)
FLINT, Mich. — Two years after a fatal train crash in northern Oakland County was blamed on fatigue, Canadian National railroad engineers and conductors are being scheduled to work 12-hour shifts, a union official said.
“Have they taken a step forward? No,” said Marty Tyler, local chairman of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers Flint division. “Have they taken a step backward? Yes, as far as myself and the employees are concerned.”
Canadian National engineers and conductors based in Flint, Pontiac, Flat Rock, Hamtramck and Battle Creek used to work eight-hour days, Tyler said. In the past few months, the schedules have been changed to 10- and 12-hour shifts, he said, with some employees working six days in a row.
A Canadian National spokesman said 12-hour shifts fall within Federal Railroad Administration requirements.
“In the railroad industry, all the hours of service are prescribed by law,” said the spokesman, Pierre Leclerc. “I can assure you that safety’s our priority.”
Two years ago today, Gary Chase, 58, of Owosso Township and Thomas Landris, 49, of Durand died when their train collided with an oncoming train that didn’t stop at a red signal. The crash occurred in Springfield Township west of Clarkston near Andersonville and Big Lake roads.
Both the engineer and conductor on one of the trains involved in the collision likely were incapacitated by chronic fatigue caused by sleep apnea, the National Transportation Safety Board said in its report on the accident. As a result, the report said, engineer Allen Yash and conductor Jesse Enriquez didn’t stop the train at a red signal, causing it to collide head-on with the other train.
Yash of Hartland Township and Enriquez of Detroit were seriously injured in the crash.
Steven Kantor, an attorney for the families of the two deceased men, said he believes equipment failure, not fatigue, was the main factor in the crash. But he is critical of the railroads for having employees work long hours.
Railroads often argue that the federal government allows them to require employees to work 12-hour shifts, he said, but that doesn’t mean it’s a good idea.
“I don’t think it’s just Canadian National’s problem,” he said. “I think it’s an industrywide problem. … Is it practical for them to work 12-hour days, day after day after day? Sooner or later, it’s going to catch up with you.”
Kantor said the Chase and Landris families received “substantial” payments in a settlement of their lawsuits against Canadian National, but he wouldn’t disclose the amount.
Tyler, who is a locomotive engineer, said he typically works 8 p.m.-8 a.m., five days a week.
“Today is, what, Wednesday?” he said earlier this week. “I worked Monday and Tuesday and I’m already wore out.”
Canadian National employees also are working more unscheduled hours when they’re called into work, Tyler said.
Employees have asked the company to provide quiet rooms and nap time, he said, but the requests have been rejected.
Leclerc said the railroad has no plans to grant those requests.
“The guys receive an advance call to report to a job,” he said. “Normally, if they say yes, it’s because they have the adequate amount of rest for the job.”
He said that after the Springfield Township crash, Canadian National encouraged all employees to report sleep problems to the company’s medical staff.
The company’s medical coverage provides assistance for employees suffering from workplace fatigue, he said.
Tyler said that’s not enough.
“Basically they’re thrown back out in the work environment (after being treated for sleep problems),” he said. “All the treatment in the world, how do you overcome the way that we work?”