(The following article by Paul Wilson was posted on the Columbus Dispatch website on October 6. Tim Hanely is the BLET’s Ohio State Legislative Board Chairman.)
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Shipping routes will be clogged and the economy will be hurt if an alleged worker slowdown at a Norfolk Southern rail yard in Columbus goes unchecked, allowing the job action to spread across the country, the company said.
A union representing the workers, without confirming the slowdown, said Norfolk Southern was “fearmongering” when the railroad recently filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Columbus to address the situation.
The dispute stems from Norfolk Southern’s efforts to replace some workers with automated systems. In protest, employees engaged “in a concerted job action to drastically reduce the productivity at Buckeye Yard,” the lawsuit said.
The union says the company is to blame for decreased productivity. New systems that are remotely controlled are the likely cause, said Tim Hanely, legislative representative for the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen.
“What do they do when the productivity decreases?” he asked. “Who do they blame?”
Remote systems also could cause safety problems, Hanely said. He cited a Federal Railway Administration report in March that said, “When comparing all railroads, (remote) operations result in more train accidents than conventional operations.”
Norfolk Southern would not comment on the lawsuit, which also names Local 1376 of the United Transportation Union as a defendant. But the company is confident in its remote technology, spokesman Rudy Husband said.
“We’re very satisfied with the results,” he said. “Our experience with remote-control technology is that we think it enhances safety for employees at our yards.”
The alleged slowdown occurred Sept. 20, the first day that remote-controlled locomotives ran through Buckeye Yard on Trabue Road. The workers’ actions violated the unions’ collective-bargaining agreement, the lawsuit said.
The lawsuit also said that Daniel G. Lockwood, Local 1376 chairman, “tacitly acknowledged” the slowdown to railroad managers on Sept. 26. Lockwood and other officials from Local 1376 could not be reached for comment.
Leaders from both unions didn’t do enough to tell employees “of their obligation to work in the efficient manger required by the applicable labor agreements,” the lawsuit said.
The railroad asks that the unions pay compensatory damages and be blocked from future slowdowns for fear that workers at other operations will follow suit.
“The resulting disruption will, unless retrained and enjoined, cause immediate, substantial and irreparable injury to (Norfolk Southern), its customers and the public in amounts that cannot be definitely ascertained,” the lawsuit said.
Norfolk Southern, based in Norfolk, Va., is one of the nation’s largest railroads, with operations spanning from Texas to Maine.
Railroads have become increasingly automated in recent years, and Norfolk Southern is correct in fearing that problems in Columbus could have a ripple effect, said Mike Petro, a transportation consultant in Florida who used to work for CSX Corp.
“Any action against the railroad certainly could have an impact (elsewhere),” he said. “How likely it is, it’s really difficult for me to gauge that.”