KCS to begin training on remotes
January 23, 2002
KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- The major railroads last week won a court order to
prevent their engineers’ union from striking over an industrywide plan
to assign work to a rival union, according to the Kansas City Star.
The Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers (BLE) said its contract was violated
when the railroads selected the United Transportation Union (UTU) to switch
freight cars between trains by remote control.
"It was an industry decision," said Kansas City Southern Railroad
(KCS) spokesman Bill Galligan. "Under existing labor contracts, the
work of operating remote-control units properly falls under and is assigned
to trainmen, and thus the UTU."
The assignment of the remote-control work is the latest issue that has
created conflict between the UTU and BLE. Last year, members of the engineers’
union rejected a proposal to merge with the UTU. The UTU has said it will
try to merge the unions through elections on each railroad property.
An injunction issued by a federal district judge in Chicago allows railroads
to proceed with pilot projects using remote control. Analysts estimated
that the industry could save as much as $250 million a year using remote
control, eliminating jobs and improving efficiency.
KCS is among the first railroads to proceed with using remote controls
for car switching. The company has bought 50 remote-control units, and training
on them is expected to begin later this week, Galligan said.
"We hope to have the program fully implemented by September,"
he said. Galligan said the remote-control units will eliminate some jobs,
but KCS officials believe that will be done through attrition instead of
layoffs.
The BLE has maintained "the position all along that locomotive engineers
should run locomotives, whether they are in the cab or on the ground,"
BLE International President Don Hahs said. "Engineers are the most
qualified and highly trained members of an operating crew."
The railroads disagreed.
