(Television station KATV posted the following story by Beth Hunt on its website on August 6.)
PINE BLUFF, Ark. — Union Pacific cut its Pine Bluff work force in half Monday, leaving dozens of former employees outraged and jobless.
Union Pacific laid off 45 employees Monday morning, some of which had been employed with the railroad for almost 30-years. Union Pacific has cut its Pine Bluff work force from 87 employees to 42.
After showing up for work Monday morning, 43 mechanical railroad employees, one administrative employee and one foreman were sent home.
Union Pacific says the main reason for the cuts is the fact that the railroad’s new locomotives don’t require as much maintenance as the old models.
Monday’s job cuts are the second in a little over a year for Union Pacific, but a company spokesperson says, “because most southbound traffic runs through Pine Bluff, we have no plans of shutting down.”
Many employees, however, are still a little uneasy. They continue to see Union Pacific s Pine Bluff work force shrink and can’t help but wonder who might be next.
Some employees say the layoffs are a breach of a 1979 New York Dock Agreement, designed to protect American railroad workers. Those employees will have 60 days to file a complaint.