(Seattle television station KGW-TV posted the following story on its website on June 2. Thomas A. Frederick is Local Chairman of BLET Division 892 in Seattle. Brian E. Taullie is a member of Division 892.)
SEATTLE — Railroad engineers for Union Pacific said Wednesday that they’re working too many hours without enough time off and warn that could lead to disaster on the rails.
The Teamsters union members of the Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen said Union Pacific is not hiring enough train service people, and they’re the ones who get railroaded into working longer, more stressful hours.
The union rank and file made their claims during an informational picket in a Seattle rail yard. Their comments come following Monday’s deadly accident in Woodland, Wash. where a man and child were killed after being struck by a Union Pacific train on a bridge.
The train was headed from Seattle to Gillem, Ore., when it struck the man and four children who were using the rail bridge to cross the Lewis River. “No Trespassing” signs are posted but residents often use the bridge to cross from Woodland to Ridgefield.
While company officials have said the train involved was not speeding and blew its horn and activated its emergency brakes prior to striking the pedestrians, the engineers participating in Wednesday’s picket said the event nonetheless adds to the stress of the job.
“It really takes a toll on your mental health and your physical health and that adds to the fatigue problem,” said union spokesman Tom Frederick.
The union also cited a train wreck in Longview, Wash. that happened in 1993; last November, another wreck happened in the same spot. The engineer in that accident was reportedly exhausted because of scheduling problems with the company, union leaders contend.
“He was going into his second sleep cycle,” said Frederick. “When he should have been in bed, he was having to perform his job as a locomotive engineer.”
One engineer told reporters that he’s on duty 12 to 24 hours at a time, he doesn’t get enough rest or enough time at home, and leaving home to go to work is getting to be unbearable.
“It makes me very angry,” said engineer Brian Taullie. “A lot of times my daughter’s in tears, you know, ‘Dad, don’t go to work,’ but what can you do.”
The rail workers said they are also concerned about the community. They said having exhausted engineers hauling nuclear waste, hazardous materials and deadly chemicals is a disaster waiting to happen.
“If something was to happen a crew, or engineer falls asleep and we’d de-rail or we hit another train it could be right in the middle of town and you’re looking at a hundred people maybe a thousand or maybe Seattle, it could happen in Seattle.”
Union Pacific Railroad officials admitted they don’t have enough people right now because of retirement and an upswing in the economy has brought in more business.
“We agree that we’re shorthanded and we’re doing a very aggressive hiring program nationally to address that,” said John Bromley, a Union Pacific spokesman.
Union Pacific plans on hiring nearly 5,000 people by the end of the year, Bromley said.
But one other issue still nags at the union: The use of remote control trains in the rail yards instead of a train crew. The union contends using people is actually safer and more efficient.