BLE’s agreement with Montana Rail Link to permit
"Black Boxes"
will cost 60 union jobs
CLEVELAND (April 4) – At least 60 union railroad workers represented
by the BLE on the Montana Rail Link (MRL) will lose their jobs by the end
of the year because of an agreement their union made with the carrier permitting
the operation of remote-controlled "black boxes" in switching
operations.
In December, the MRL revealed in a letter to employees that the Brotherhood
of Locomotive Engineers (BLE) had agreed to replace operating employees
with remote controls in some switching operations.
Now, the total job loss is known; at least 60 workers will be laid off
by the MRL with the cooperation of the BLE.
A recent report from the Montana AFL-CIO on a project to retrain displaced
workers quoted the BLE asking for "assistance for its members who will
be laid off due to automation of Montana Rail Link operations."
Sources say that the BLE’s remote-controlled deal with MRL will
cost 20 jobs in the near future and at least 60 by the end of the year.
The layoffs will occur in Laurel, Helena, and Missoula, the sources said.
They also said that at least one yardman will be eliminated from every train
leaving only a locomotive engineer and one yardman. In addition, the locomotive
engineer will be required to leave the train to use the "belt pack."
A March 11 report to the Montana AFL-CIO Executive Board by Dave Morey,
director the Project Challenge, revealed the BLE’s request for assistance
to retrain members laid off. Sources say the BLE’s Dave Ditzel made
the request for help.
In a December 3 letter to employees, MRL President Daniel K. Watts revealed
that its "labor organization" (BLE) was working with the carrier
and Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) to develop operating plans for
remote-controlled operations.
"I realize," Watts wrote, "this decision is of great concern
to MRL employees as it could eventually impact our current employment levels."
Neither the BLE nor Watts ever said at the time that 60 union workers would
lose their jobs. The BLE represents all operating employees on the Montana
Rail Link.
"Now we know the human price of the BLE’s black-box sell-out on
the Montana Rail Link that will cost 60 good people their jobs," said
UTU International President Charles L. Little. "The BLE’s black
box agreement with MRL, as well as its deal with the Pacific Harbor Line
in California, shows that it is collaborating with management to sell out
jobs to unsafe technology."
Little reiterated that "the BLE’s capitulation to the Montana
Rail Link to sell human jobs for remote-controlled operations will create
a dangerous precedent that opens the door to black box operations on Class
I railroads that will cost thousands of more jobs and accelerate the race
to the bottom."
MORE......FROM UTU PAGES........
PITTSBURGH -- Bernadine Paga has never been in the cab of a train locomotive,
but yesterday she drove one by pushing buttons on a shoebox-sized remote
control device made by one of Pittsburgh's newest manufacturers, the Pittsburgh
Post-Gazette reported.
"It was so easy to use," Paga said after she moved a 120-ton
locomotive owned by CANAC Inc. toward an empty freight car. "If I can
do it, anyone can."
Paga, sales manager for the Millennia Group, a CANAC supplier, was handling
the knobs of a Belt Pack, a remote control device that is worn around the
waist and used to operate locomotives from a standing position on the ground
outside the train.
A Montreal-based subsidiary of the Canadian National Railway Co., CANAC
demonstrated two of its remote control products yesterday to inaugurate
a new 22,000 square foot manufacturing plant in the RIDC Industrial Park
in O'Hara.
The Canadian rail services company came to Pittsburgh last year as a
result of its purchase of Vectran Corp., a maker of remote controls used
in locomotives, heavy vehicles and cranes.
CANAC is closing production in Montreal and consolidating manufacturing
in Pittsburgh for products sold in the United States, Canada and Mexico.
The facility now employs 62 people, with another 18 scheduled to arrive
soon. It expects to grow further if the market expands.
Chief executive Frank Trotter said the market for all suppliers of locomotive
remote controls has the potential to reach $500 million a year from its
current $50 million if the technology becomes more widely accepted in the
United States.
There are big hurdles to overcome before that can happen.
One is the resistance of rail labor unions. Another is the reluctance
so far of the Federal Railroad Administration to adopt guidelines for use
of the remote control devices.
For those reasons, major railroads are holding back on purchasing the
equipment, which ranges in price from $40,000 for a CANTRAC 550, scheduled
to come off the assembly line this summer, to about $125,000 for a Belt
Pack.
Remote controls are commonplace in steel mill railroads, other industrial
sites and Canadian railroad systems. They are primarily used to assemble
or break apart trains in rail yards, and are deployed by some small regional
railroads in the United States. They have not been widely used by large
American railroads.
"This is technology that has been applied in Europe and Canada.
The U.S. is the last bastion of the industry that has not accepted it,"
said Guy M. Archambault, CANAC's senior vice president of marketing and
sales. "This is technology. There's not an industry in the world that
can hold back technology."
There is little middle ground on the positions. Proponents of locomotive
remote controls tout it as safe, efficient and productive technology that,
in the long run, will create more jobs. Opponents characterize remote controls
as dangerous tools in a dangerous industry and destructive to jobs.
Citing renewed interest by railroads, the railroad administration is
convening a technical conference on the systems July 12 in Washington, D.C.
CANAC and rail labor unions are expected to give their opposing views.
Joseph Gallant, an operations specialist with the agency, said the conference
may lead to the development of long-awaited guidelines for use of the technology
by U.S. railroads. He said the equipment has been around in various forms
for 25 to 30 years.
"The railroads, of course, would love to use remote control locomotives.
There's certainly room for new technology," Gallant said, adding that
the agency is "impressed" with the safety record of the units
used in Canada.
CANAC says the Belt Pack technology is used extensively in Canada by
major railroads. It says there have been no accidents that can be attributed
to remote controls after 1.5 million hours of operation.
Canadian National, CANAC's parent, has saved $20 million a year by using
150 remote control units and has reduced overall accident rates by 50 percent,
according to Archambault.
"Knowing it is loving it," Archambault said, rattling off safety
features that for example, shut down a locomotive if an operator falls down.
"It's a safe product."
Remote controls are reviled by the United Transportation Union, which
represents conductors, brakemen, switchmen, ground service workers, yard
masters and locomotive engineers.
The Cleveland-based union says the technology of running a huge locomotive
pulling a train that can weigh 150,000 tons is dangerous no matter what
CANAC says.
"It's trying to stretch one person too far," said Donald W.
Dunlevy, the union's Pennsylvania legislative director.
What if a long train gets out of sight of the operator and causes an
accident? Dunlevy asks. CANAC counters that there normally would be crew
in front of and behind a huge line of cars.
Dunlevy also pictures complications arising from an operator handling
too much equipment at one time, for example a Belt Pack plus a radio or
a lantern. Bad weather and night operations could complicate the work.
"There is no place for confusion in the operation of trains and
equipment," he said.
