(The following story by Kevin Sampier appeared on The Peoria Journal Star
GALESBURG, Ill. — A plan by the nation’s largest railroad companies to reduce staffing to one person per train has one congressional candidate “more than angry,” because it could mean up to 300 lost jobs in the area.
“This community has had enough of jobs leaving,” said Democratic candidate Phil Hare. He is running against Republican Andrea Zinga for the 17th Congressional District seat held by U.S. Rep. Lane Evans, D-Rock Island. Evans is retiring at the end of his term.
Hare said the country’s major railroad companies want to switch from two-person crews to one-person crews to operate their freight trains.
Hare said the move would not only harm local economies but would present a national safety threat, because one person wouldn’t be able to monitor an entire train alone.
Hare said one train car of ammonia rigged with explosives could kill about 100,000 people in Chicago, and he added other hazardous materials move by train all the time. He said these trains could be targeted by terrorists and should be watched by more people, not fewer.
“This is priority backwards as far as I’m concerned,” Hare said. “I’m more than angry about it.”
In addition to safety concerns, Hare said the plan would mean between 200 and 300 lost jobs for the Galesburg area. That would be another blow to the city that suffered economically when Maytag closed its plant.
“I’m really angry that they would even remotely propose this,” he said.
Burlington Northern Santa Fe, which has its second-largest train yard in Galesburg, is among the national companies that would reduce staff from two to one person per train if the plan is approved.
However, there are still many steps before it comes to that point.
Bud Linroth, a conductor for BNSF and a legislative representative for the United Transportation Union, attended Hare’s news conference.
Linroth said a contract drafted in 1980 requires BNSF to operate with at least two people on board each train until all those people protected under that contract are no longer working.
Several hundred protected people are working in Galesburg, Linroth said.
The National Carriers’ Conference Committee represents the railroad companies during contract negotiations and is pushing for the reduction, Linroth said.
BNSF spokesman Steve Forsberg said the focus should be on the committee and its decisions, not the individual railroads.
“BNSF isn’t doing anything on its own,” Forsberg said. “The individual railroads don’t negotiate contracts.”
Forsberg disputed Linroth’s numbers, saying it is still too early to know if 200 to 300 jobs would be lost.
“They don’t know that, we don’t know that,” he said. “We’re not going to speculate.”