(The following article by Chip Jones was posted on the Richmond Times-Dispatch website on November 11.)
RICHMOND, Va. — It could be a cold winter for some CSX Corp. workers in Richmond and around the country.
Within the past two weeks, machinists at the railroad’s Acca Yard switching facility here received instructions not to set thermostats in mechanical shops and storerooms above 50 degrees.
A company memo, obtained by The Times-Dispatch, states, “Heat building to no more than 50 degrees Fahrenheit in winter, when occupied.”
It also bans “supplementary heating,” such as space heaters.
The directive sets a 68-degree limit for CSX office buildings and bans space heaters there as well.
To keep heating costs down, “they’re looking for uniformity in the shops on our system,” CSX spokesman Bob Sullivan said.
The standards meet those set by the American Society of Heating Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers, he said. Other energy-conservation measures are in the plan.
Still, the company’s edict has upset some local shop workers, according to one CSX veteran. “To set it on 50 degrees – it’s just crazy,” said the worker, who asked not to be identified.
In the past, shop workers could exer- cise their own judgment in setting ther- mostats, he said. They could also use gas-fired heaters as secondary sources of heat.
Some office workers at Acca Yard are accustomed to using space heaters to keep warm, the employee said.
Despite moving its headquarters out of Richmond to Jacksonville, Fla., this year, CSX still employs about 200 people at its yards and shops in Richmond and Henrico County. It has 1,200 other workers throughout Virginia.
Company spokesman Sullivan declined to comment on the workers’ concerns. But he said, “Nobody’s looking to do something cruel. We’re trying to provide a workplace where people can function well, and safely, and comfortably.”
According to Sullivan, the nature of the car repair and locomotive refueling work at Acca Yard – with doors often open to the outside – means “the temperatures in some shops never get up to 50.”
So, he said, the new 50-degree rule “is not significantly lower than what it is now.”
Sullivan said the move was not tied to CSX’s announcement Monday of layoffs and cost-cutting during the next six months. The temperature edict applies to all shops and offices on CSX’s 23-state system, which includes parts of the Northeast and Midwest, he said.
“Despite tremendous successes in growing our revenue over the past three years, I am not satisfied with our efforts to control costs and improve productivity,” Michael J. Ward, CSX’s chairman, president and chief executive officer, said in a statement.
To improve company performance, Ward said the company plans to cut 800 to 1,000 managers in the next six months.
The layoffs will cost the company $60 million to $80 million, most of which will be recognized during the next two quarters.
The moves follow a recent reported loss of $103 million, or 48 cents a share, in the third quarter.
Norfolk Southern Corp., the other major Eastern railroad, does not have a blanket policy for setting thermostats in workplaces, spokeswoman Susan Bland said.
“We do expect everyone to be aware of energy use,” she said.
For the machinists in Richmond, the directive appears to have fueled frustration over minimal raises and working without a new contract during the past few years.
Average high temperatures in Jacksonville ranged from 60.1 to 74.4 degrees last January to March, according to the National Weather Service. Lows ranged from 35 to 56.1 degrees.
By contrast, average highs in Richmond ranged from 41.5 to 61.3 degrees last January to March. Lows ranged from 25.9 to 37.6 degrees.
Asked whether the policy directive from Florida could hurt morale, Sullivan said, “I don’t think so.”