CLEVELAND -- Nineteen members of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers are suing the Grand Trunk Western Railroad for using a hidden video camera in their Pontiac, Mich., locker room.
BLE Grand Trunk Western General Chairman John Karakian said the use of "surreptitious electronic surveillance" has caused a great deal of concern and anger among the locomotive engineers of Division 920 in Pontiac.
In January, engineers discovered a small video camera hidden inside an exit sign above the main doorway to the engineers' locker room. The camera was focused through a tiny hole, roughly the diameter of a pencil, in the plastic casing around the exit sign.
"If you just saw the hole in the exit sign you wouldn't think anything of it," Karakian said. "The actual camera was very well concealed. It must have been installed by a professional."
The engineers change their clothes in the locker room, which is adjacent to the shower. In addition, the engineers often discuss contract negotiations, union issues, and personal matters during their breaks, meals and off-time in the locker room.
In addition to causing a great deal of anger among the engineers, the invasion of privacy caused them embarrassment and trepidation.
"Our guys don't want to take showers, use the bathroom or change their clothes in the locker room if they are being spied on," Karakian said.
Karakian sent letters to Grand Trunk management requesting detailed
information on all surveillance of BLE-represented employees undertaken
by GTW, each location where surveillance was undertaken, the reasons for
the surveillance, and how GTW used the surveillance. Karakian also asked
that GTW identify who authorized the surveillance, and that GTW identify
everyone who reviewed the surveillance. Karakian received little information
from GTW managers, however.
"Things escalated to the point of a lawsuit because I contacted the carrier on multiple occasions, in writing and in person, but the carrier continually stonewalled my requests for information," Karakian said. "When they did respond, their response was self-serving and did not provide the requested information. We did everything -- we could we bent over backwards -- to try to get GTW to answer the engineers' questions. We didn't get answers."
Grand Trunk Western Senior Manager of Labor Relations Mark A. Rose acknowledged an "investigation" at the Pontiac facility, but gave no details. Karakian said that Rose's response was vague and did not explain why the secret video camera was installed in the first place. Karakian pointed out that a GTW trainmaster bragged about seeing engineers naked on tape. Karakian said he could not imagine any legitimate "investigation" that justified locker room "peeping tom" videotapes or a trainmaster's efforts to ridicule and embarrass engineers.
"There was no hesitation about pursuing this effort to vindicate our privacy rights," Karakian said of the BLE engineers when talk of a lawsuit began. "I couldn't have held them back. No one could have held them back. This intrusion on the engineers' privacy is a very serious matter."
Karakian sought support from the BLE International Division. Brother Karakian visited the BLE's Cleveland Headquarters and met with International President Clarence Monin and General Counsel Harold Ross. Monin gave the engineers his support for filing their lawsuit.
"President Monin was livid when I told him about the hidden surveillance camera," Karakian said. "He pounded his fist on the table and said that our members are entitled to dignity and respect in the workplace. President Monin and the BLE fully support the engineers' efforts to protect their personal privacy."
The engineers' lawsuit charges GTW with invasion of privacy, violation of the Michigan Eavesdropping Act and the Michigan Employee Right to Know Act. The lawsuit asks the court to issue an injunction directing GTW to stop secret surveillance and to award damages as determined by a jury.
"With BLE's support we'll make sure GTW answers for its conduct," Karakian said.
After negotiating a landmark agreement last week to eliminate serious work/rest issues, the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and United Transportation Union plan to tackle the entry-rate pay system for railroad operating employees.
The entry-rate pay system was one of 14 issues referred to the National Wage & Rules Panel for disposition following the 1996 round of collective bargaining. The BLE and UTU have agreed to negotiate jointly as a result of their continued efforts to form a new labor organization.
The BLE and UTU jointly notified the National Carriers Conference Committee (NCCC) that they intend to discuss replacing the entry-rate pay system at the upcoming National Wage & Rules Panel scheduled for April 15 and 16 in Las Vegas. All employees hired "post-'85" have been subject to entry rates.
Monin said the unions are determined to put an end to the two-tier pay system.
"It's time to put an end to this injustice," Monin said. "Workers performing the same tasks should be compensated at the same rate of pay. Through our combined efforts, we plan to eliminate this inequality."
UTU President Little said, "We intend to negotiate with the carriers under the direction of the National Mediation Board and get rid of the inequity caused by the dual-pay system. The time is right to get this done."
On March 22, a joint BLE-UTU committee approved a series of groundbreaking principles in Houston with the NCCC to resolve long-time work/rest issues. Under the new fatigue guidelines, each Class 1 carrier will establish joint worker-management work/rest committees that will implement localized programs within nine months.
The agreement was announced jointly by Monin, Little and Robert Allen, chairman of the National Carriers' Conference Committee.
"Fatigue has been recognized by the National Transportation Safety Board as the No. 1 killer on the rails," said Monin. "It's been on the BLE's priority list for a long time. Our ability to sit down with the carriers and work this out is a byproduct of our two unions being able to work together."
Under the agreement, Class I carriers represented by the NCCC and the unions will establish work/rest programs that would:
Guidelines to deal with fatigue were established "after months of study and education and incorporate the validated science known about fatigue in the working environment," Allen said.
"This is far better than a one-size-fits-all legislative solution," Allen continued.
"Fatigue is a big problem throughout the industry," BLE President Monin said. "This agreement calls for the measures needed to provide adequate rest for operating crews, and it will lead to the safer operation of the nation's trains."
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