(The following article by Scott Wartman was posted on the Huntington, WVa. Herald-Dispatch website on October 31.)
RACELAND, Ky. — As CSX looks to sell its Raceland, Ky., railcar repair facility, at least 175 employees will retain their jobs should the proposed sale take place, a union leader said Friday.
A CSX official confirmed on Thursday that the company may sell the 76-year-old railcar shop in Raceland but would not say who the potential buyers would be or the likelihood of the sale.
CSX issued a letter of intent this week to sell the Raceland facility to Alabama-based Progress Rail by Dec. 27, said Woody Lane, district chairman of the Brotherhood of Railway Carmen Local 6344, which employs 175 of the approximately 200 employees at the facility.
CSX informed the union that the members of the Brotherhood of Railway Carmen at the plant will continue working with the new company should the sale happen, Lane said. Lane hasn’t spoken to Progress Rail and couldn’t comment on the future for the rest of Raceland’s employees not a member of the Local 6344.
“We will remain there,” Lane said. “It is business as usual.”
CSX wouldn’t release any new information on Friday.
“We haven’t been able to talk a great deal about it because no firm decision has been made,” said Gary Sease, spokesman with CSX.
If the sale does not take place, Lane said the future of the facility beyond next year remains uncertain. The facility has work scheduled through the end of 2006, he said.
The news of the potential sale of the plant has caused some sadness among the workers, Lane said.
“It has been part of the community since 1929,” Lane said. “I hope the facility remains open. We understand Progress Rail is willing to give that to us. If it does take place, I look forward to working with them.”
Employment at CSX’s railcar facility in Raceland has steadily dwindled from 2,240 in the late 1970s and early 1980s to 200 today, Lane said.