(The following article by Randolph Heaster was posted on the Kansas City Star website on March 7.)
KANSAS CITY — Labor negotiations in the railroad industry are always drawn out, but one divisive issue could make the current round of talks particularly arduous.
The major railroads, led by BNSF Railway Co., are seeking agreements with their unions to run some trains with one employee on board, which would eliminate thousands of jobs and potentially reduce annual industry costs by more than $1 billion.
The unions oppose the technology known as positive train control, which railroads say can automatically apply a train’s brakes to stop or slow down if an engineer does not see warning signals. The system eliminates the need for a conductor, supporters of the technology say.
BNSF has been experimenting with the technology on about 135 miles of track in Illinois.
But attempts to negotiate reduced train-staffing requirements systemwide has brought the objections of all rail unions. BNSF recently sought to expand its pilot program, but the unions argued against the proposal at a hearing before the Federal Railroad Administration.
“The waiver in question explicitly seeks removal of the second crew member, the important second set of eyes and ears, from the cab of the locomotive,” said Rick Inclima, director of the Teamsters rail division’s Brotherhood of Maintenance Ways Employes.
The unions have argued that they support the development of the new technology, but railroads want to adopt them as an excuse for reducing their work forces. No studies have been conducted on the effect that one-person crews would have on public safety, the unions argued.
The issue has even united the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen and the United Transportation Union. These two labor groups, who have fought often through the years, have agreed to set aside their differences for now to fight the one-person proposal.
“We’ve agreed not to raid each other’s memberships,” said Frank Wilner, a UTU spokesman.
Wilner said the UTU is in court with the BNSF over the one-person crews in Illinois, arguing that the issue cannot be settled in the current round of national bargaining. Wilner said the union has not heard from the representative of the carriers about further negotiating sessions on other matters.
The National Carriers’ Conference Committee, or NCCC, is the bargaining representative for 32 railroads.
The BLET is negotiating with the carriers’ group as part of the Rail Labor Bargaining Coalition, a group of seven unions. The next scheduled negotiation session for the railroads and the coalition is April 11.
The NCCC recently released a statement saying the railroads urged the UTU and BLET leaders to negotiate new reduced staffing requirements last year but they refused.
“As always, our goal remains to reach voluntary agreements that will revise work rules and staffing requirements while providing job security for current employees,” the NCCC said in a statement last month. “Any suggestion that the railroads would do anything to jeopardize the safety of their operations in the future is blatantly false.”
The UTU represents about 46,000 members affected by the current bargaining sessions, and the BLE about 22,000 members covered by the current talks.
Rejoining AFL-CIO
Several big unions broke away from the AFL-CIO last year, but one union recently rejoined the group.
The United Transportation Union reaffiliated with the larger labor federation Feb. 27.
Paul C. Thompson, president of the UTU International, was elected vice president of the AFL-CIO’s executive council.
Thompson was the UTU’s International vice president based in Shawnee before becoming president earlier this decade.