CLEVELAND, October 30 — The Wisconsin AFL-CIO has adopted a resolution calling for the State of Wisconsin and the Federal Railroad Administration to end the use of unregulated remote control locomotive operations within the state.
The Wisconsin AFL-CIO passed the resolution on October 23. It states, in part, that, “employees with as little as two weeks of training” as remote operators are controlling the movement of hazardous materials in “close proximity to our homes, schools, places of work, and hospitals.”
Wisconsin AFL-CIO President David Newby said, “The Wisconsin AFL-CIO totally supports the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers in their campaign to seek the end of the unregulated use of remote control locomotives.”
Several other AFL-CIO State Federations have adopted remote control safety resolutions, including: Nebraska, Texas, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Missouri and North Dakota.
The text of the resolution follows:
A RESOLUTION OF THE WISCONSIN AFL-CIO ON THE MATTER OF RAILROADS OPERATING REMOTE CONTROL LOCOMOTIVES WITHIN THE STATE OF WISCONSIN
Submitted by the Wisconsin State Legislative Board of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers, October 23, 2003
Whereas, helping secure a safe workplace for all Wisconsin workers is a primary goal of the Wisconsin AFL-CIO; and
Whereas, the Wisconsin AFL-CIO takes an active interest in the safety of all Wisconsin citizens, and the security of our homeland; and
Whereas, the State of Wisconsin has four Class One railroads involved in the transportation of hazardous materials (HAZMAT) by rail; and
Whereas, a significant amount of these hazardous chemicals, including radioactive and bio-hazardous waste, are transported through Wisconsin communities and neighborhoods and in close proximity to our homes, schools, places of work, and hospitals; and
Whereas, hazardous materials are subject to uncontrolled release if their container is ruptured during a railroad derailment or collision; and
Whereas, all Class One railroads in Wisconsin may soon be implementing use of Remote Control Locomotive Technology (unmanned locomotives) in their rail operations; and
Whereas, railroads are conducting remote control operations with employees who receive as little as two weeks of training; and
Whereas, heretofore all railroads have manned their locomotives with Locomotive Engineers, who are rigorously certified and fully qualified by standards established by the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA); and
Whereas, the federal Railroad Administration has allowed railroads to establish a new program of lessened training, testing, and qualification requirement of the remote control operator, with out regard to the safety concerns of the citizens of the State of Wisconsin; and
Whereas, the Federal Railroad Administration has issued non-binding guidelines (“Compliance is voluntary.” FRA Notice of Safety Advisory 2001-1 Feb. 14, 2001) to govern the day-to-day operational practices involving Remote Control Locomotives; and
Whereas, the railroads have failed to adopt all the provisions of these minimal FRA guidelines for operational practices; and
Now, Therefore Be it Resolved, that the Wisconsin AFL-CIO supports the position of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers, and hereby admonishes all railroads within the State of Wisconsin to continue to use fully qualified Locomotive Engineers in all train service operations; and
Be It Further Resolved, that the Wisconsin AFL-CIO admonishes the Federal Railroad Administration to develop comprehensive safety regulations for the use of remote control locomotives, and that those regulations ensure the highest level of skill and qualifications of persons operating all locomotives; and
Be It Further Resolved, which the Wisconsin AFL-CIO request the Wisconsin Office of the Commissioner of Railroads to call for the cease all remote control locomotive operations until such a time that the FRA confirms that all the railroads operating in the State of Wisconsin have met all the guidelines set forth in the Notice of Safety Advisory 2001-1; and
Be It Further Resolved, that the Wisconsin AFL-CIO calls on the Railroads operating remote control locomotives within the State of Wisconsin to notify the Wisconsin Office of Homeland Security of the nature and location of all remote control locomotive operations, so that the Wisconsin Office of Homeland Security may coordinate with local emergency planning agencies in the areas where such operations are being performed; and
Be It Finally Resolved, that the President of the Wisconsin AFL-CIO will send a letter to FRA Finance Docket No. 2000-8422, which was established at the request of the Brotherhood of Locomotives Engineers, and ask Alan Rutter, Administrator of the FRA, to promulgate enforceable regulations governing Remote Control Locomotive Technology that will ensure the safety of the employees, citizens, and communities of the State of Wisconsin.