(WorkdayMinnesota.org posted the following article on its website on March 12.)
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Acting on behalf of 35 unions representing transportation workers, the AFL-CIO Transportation Trades Department called upon the Federal Railroad Administration to issue an emergency order immediately stopping the use of remote control locomotives until rigorous, enforceable federal rules can be established to protect workers and those who live near railroads.
In the last two years, more than 40 accidents involving remote control trains have occurred, including an accident in which a worker was killed near Syracuse, N.Y., last month. In Minnesota and across the nation, rail workers have spoken out against the devices, which allow train engines to be operated by remote control with no one on board.
On Tuesday, the same day the Transportation Trades Department issued its call, hundreds of workers rallied outside the FRA headquarters in Washington to demand action. Speakers included AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Richard Trumka, Transportation Trades Executive Director Ed Wytkind and Teamsters President James P. Hoffa.
The cities of Boston, Cleveland, Detroit and Baton Rouge and Shreveport, Louisiana, have banned remote control locomotive operations. The use of remote control locomotives raises a number of safety and security concerns, particularly with hazardous cargo, the Cleveland City Council said in its resolution, passed Feb. 10.
The communities called upon the FRA to investigate and regulate remote control operations.
The AFL-CIO Transportation Trades Department said, We have seen accident after accident while the FRA has simply allowed carriers to use this technology without any set of rules or sufficient oversight.
Remote control technology has enabled railroads to eliminate jobs. Workers who operate the remote control devices say they do not receive enough training and often have to perform multiple duties, increasing the likelihood of accidents.
In Syracuse, 36-year-old John Sneddon, a trainman and member of United Transportation Union Local 292, died when he was struck by a moving boxcar. Sneddon’s partner was operating a locomotive with a remote control device when the accident happened. An investigation is under way.