Winter 2002
Volume 109 - No. 4
Winter 2002
Volume 109 - No. 4
BLE Focus
Arbitration Hearing
The BLE presented the safety issue as a portion of its evidence during the two-day arbitration hearing in Chicago, which ended on November 19, 2002. During the hearing, the BLE took the position that, "The assignment of other than locomotive engineers to operate locomotives via remote control in connection with the movement of cars, trains and/or engines in terminal operations is a violation of the exclusive rights of locomotive engineers to perform such service pursuant to existing BLE Agreements and established practice."
The arbitration was a three-way hearing between the BLE, UTU and the carriers. In contrast to the BLE position, the UTU and carriers presented arguments that the work of controlling trains by remote control should be assigned to trainmen.
BLE International President Don M. Hahs speaks to the SWCM rally.
The decision and its aftermath
The decision regarding the remote control dispute was rendered on January 10, 2003 by Arbitrator Gil Vernon, Chairman of Special Board of Adjustment No. 1141. The decision, against the BLE, opened the door for the nationwide operation of remote control trains. It also caused great concern to the BLE.
Vernon looked at the information presented to him by the three parties in the dispute and came to his decision. The full text of the decision is on the BLE's website.
His decision was founded on three beliefs that he established after viewing the evidence:
1. The non-explicit nature of the language in the BLE's contracts with the carriers regarding the assignment of remote control work;
2. The BLE's recent Section 6 notices, which attempted to fill-in the language that was lacking in the contracts; and
3. Vernon's belief that the skilled functions that are usually performed by locomotive engineers are performed by the computer in the case of remote control - not the man on the ground.
The BLE disputes all of these assumptions and has grave concerns about the after-effects of the arbitrator's decision, and plans to continue to fight.
First among the concerns sparked by the arbitrator's decision was the safety of railroad employees - both those represented by the BLE and those not represented by the BLE - and the safety of the general public.
"First and foremost, the decision creates serious safety concerns for railroad employees and the general public. Trains carrying nuclear waste and other hazardous materials will now be operated - at least in terminal operations - by employees who have as little as 80 hours of training," President Hahs said.
The BLE was also concerned with the lack of regulations from the FRA governing the use of the technology. The FRA contributed to the magnitude of the problem by failing to adopt enforcable regulations and failing in its duties to protect the public from harm.
The arbitrator's decision pointed out the contributions of the FRA to the problem. Basically, Vernon believed the fact that the FRA did not mandate more training for RCOs demonstrated that they are not taking the positions or duties of locomotive engineers. That is, the duties of an RCO are significantly different than those of locomotive engineers and, because the duties of RCOs are simpler than that of locomotive engineers, their training does not need to be as extensive, according to the arbitrator. The arbitrator seemed to believe that the FRA intended these duties to fall under a new job title and set them up to be separate from the job of locomotive engineers, giving the impression that RCO is a new craft or class of operating employees.
Regardless, it compromises safety to provide less training to employees charged with the movement of freight trains.
"In essence, the FRA circumvented its own regulations - 49 CFR Part 240 - by creating a deskilled engine craft (remote control operator)," President Hahs said.
Also setting a dangerous precedent was the arbitrator's decision to go against 150 years of established practice in the railroad industry.
"The decision violates more than 150 years of established practice, ignoring Federally certified locomotive engineers as the only craft responsible for moving and operating trains," President Hahs said. "The decision also fails to recognize current collective bargaining agreements, local and national agreements, and years of past practice.
However, it is safety that remains the more important issue.
"The Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers will continue to press for adequate training of remote control operators, who will now begin handling carloads of spent nuclear waste and other deadly substances. Citizens should also be concerned about the remote control technology itself because it is not totally reliable. Any piece of equipment, like the remote control devices, will malfunction at some point. No matter how reliable they are, they will fail.
"More than 30 accidents and derailments involving remote control were reported to the BLE in the past 11 months, and I believe it is not the fault of the employees. These workers have not received adequate training prior to being thrown to the wolves. This situation is a ticking time bomb.
"Since September 25, four U.S. cities - Baton Rouge, La., Shreveport, La., Detroit, Mich., and Marysville, Mich., - have cited safety concerns in the adoption of resolutions banning remote control operations and/or calling upon the Federal Railroad Administration to adopt enforceable regulations to govern the use of the technology," President Hahs said.
In the aftermath of the decision, the BLE does not simply plan to let the issue of remote control go. At press time, President Hahs and the Advisory Board were trying to set up meetings with the FRA and the carriers to get answers regarding certain unanswered components of the decision.
"The bottom line is that the biggest losers, unfortunately, are
the very members both organizations represent," President Hahs concluded.
"The BLE and UTU will lose one job on every assignment - period - for
payment of one hour and 32 minutes. There are no winners today as far as
operating crews are concerned. The winners are rail management and the manufacturers
of remote control devices."
The box that caused a thousand problems
An innocuous piece of equipment has caused a lot of problems for the BLE, the railroads and the general public. The diagram at left depicts the remote control transmitter that "remote control operators" use to initiate train movements. Its cost in monetary terms is not enormous, but its cost to safety is astronomical.
© 2002 Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers