CLEVELAND, October 23 — St. Louis, Mo., has joined 26 other cities and 11 counties in adopting a remote control safety resolution.
The Board of Aldermen approved the resolution on October 15. The Aldermen cited the amount of hazardous materials moving through their city as one of the reasons that they adopted the resolution. The resolution asks the Federal Railroad Administration to review their policies regarding remote control operations.
Missouri State Legislative Board Chairman Mickey Gage presented the BLE’s position on remote control locomotives to the Alderman. He was assisted by David Grimes, local chairman of BLE Division 42 (St. Louis). Chairman Gage’s daughter, Sarah, also assisted with the presentation.
In addition to St. Louis, 26 U.S. cities have adopted similar resolutions: Baton Rouge, La.; Detroit, Mich.; Shreveport, La.; Marysville, Mich.; Boston, Mass.; Cleveland, Ohio; Pine Bluff, Ark.; North Little Rock, Ark.; Beardstown, Ill.; Bakersfield, Calif.; Woodbridge, N.J.; Maple Heights, Ohio; Alliance, Neb.; Evansville, Ind.; Dupo, Ill.; Durand, Mich; Flat Rock, Mich.; Woodhaven, Mich; Flint, Mich.; Sparks, Nev.; Commerce, Calif.; Clinton, Iowa; Montebello, Calif.; Saginaw, Mich.; Mankato, Minn.; and Wamac, Ill.
Also, 11 counties have passed similar remote control resolutions. They are: Douglas County, Wisc.; West Baton Rouge Parish, La.; Point Coupee Parish, La.; Cuyahoga County, Ohio; Huron County, Ohio; Erie County, Ohio; Whitley County, Ky.; Unicoi County, Tenn.; Contra Costa County, Calif.; Knox County, Tenn.; and Clinton, County, Iowa.
Eight AFL-CIO state federations have also passed remote control resolutions. They are: Arizona, Texas, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Missouri, North Dakota and Nebraska.
For a PDF of the St. Louis resolution, click here:
http://www.ble.org/pr/pdf/stlouis.pdf