CLEVELAND, March 11 — The Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers joined forces with the International Brotherhood of Teamsters against the use of remote control locomotives today. The BLE/IBT held a rally in front of the Federal Railroad Administration building in Washington, D.C. to draw attention to the dangers of remote control locomotives.
The rally, which was attended by over 200 people from all over the U.S. and Canada, demanded improved federal safety regulations to govern the operation of unmanned, remote control trains from the FRA.
Speakers included IBT General President James P. Hoffa, AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Rich Trumka, BLE International President Don M. Hahs and Association of Flight Attendants President Patricia Friend. Ed Wytkind of the AFL-CIO’s Transportation Trades Department also spoke, reading a letter sent to the FRA by Senator Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) asking for an FRA rulemaking on remote control. The TTD sent a letter also.
Several media outlets, including CNN, Reuters, the Chicago Tribune and Bloomberg News, attended the rally.
More information, including photographs, will be coming soon.