BLET National President Mark Wallace joined America’s Work Force Union Podcast last week to discuss problems with crews from Mexico operating trains in the U.S. and why the practice, while currently limited, should be halted.
President Wallace said the cross-border dispute regarding Mexican nationals operating trains into the United States could initially lead to 30-40 jobs lost at Eagle Pass, Texas. The BLET is putting up a fight to prevent those job losses from spreading.
“The reason we’re challenging this is not necessarily the initial job loss, I think it’s long term,” Wallace said. “Once they get three miles in, now they’re nine miles in… and eventually they could be 150-200 miles in. And we see that as an avenue for the railroads to get cheaper labor through what the federal government is allowing them to do with these waivers.”
The risks are high, with many unknowns regarding the training standards and qualifications of Mexican national train engineers. Wallace said the ability to speak English is important when communicating with first responders in the event of a derailment and hazardous materials spill.
President Wallace said the BLET is seeking high level meetings with the White House to put an end to this threat. “We think that when Donald Trump does find out that this is happening that he will make changes. We’re trying to have those conversations as soon as possible,” Wallace said.
Additional topics of discussion include: the strike at NJ Transit; remote control train operations; the rail industry’s push to put safety at risk by replacing workers with unproven technology; the rail industry’s attack on safety regulations; and one-person train crews.
Listen to the entire podcast here.