Get ready for one man crews on the Main line.

[wctransfer]

QUOTE: Originally posted by drfizzix

A certain shortline railroad in North Carolina uses one man crews regularly. There is a conductor on every crew, but he is usually in a company vehicle down the line getting switches lined for the approaching train and what not, rarely actually riding on the train.... [:(]

Its actually like that down here on "my job" i call it that because im up there everyday, Its a transfer, so its a daily thing. And he uses the car all the time, and i like it! Easier and faster. The pic in my sig is the transfer.

Alec

[Anonymous]

the railroad labor act prevents us from striking. you are right bnsf did go on strike for 3 hours a couple of months ago. as soon as the utu went on strike the railroad filed an injuction preventing the utu from striking. the utu has just filed a very similar injuction on the railroads section 6 notices preventing them from opening up the crew contist. all we do now is wait for the ruling from the judge and hope th crew constist is not desolved. if the crew contist is desolved you can expect a lot more wrecks and a much more dangerous railroad. it would be insane to desolve the crew contist

[wctransfer]

Whoa, dtthurman, ya i heard about that. All the conductors went on strike. If it were longer, and engineers did it too, wow, they would really get the message!

Alec

[bobwilcox]

Should the Railway Labor Act be repealed with labor agreements then falling under Taft Hartley? I think the modern economy would be just fine if the UTU negotiated with one carrier at a time and made it clear they were willing to operate jobs providing vital service (commuters, power plants,etc.)

[Anonymous]

This all does not sound good at all.
Allan.

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by bobwilcox

Should the Railway Labor Act be repealed with labor agreements then falling under Taft Hartley? I think the modern economy would be just fine if the UTU negotiated with one carrier at a time and made it clear they were willing to operate jobs providing vital service (commuters, power plants,etc.)

The national carries confernce will not allow the utu to negtiated with one carry at a time. all class 1 one railroads have given the power of attornany so they can stream line the process. if it were up to the utu and blet they would negotiated on properity with one local at a time.

[bobwilcox]

QUOTE: Originally posted by [e-mail]
[
The national carries confernce will not allow the utu to negtiated with one carry at a time. all class 1 one railroads have given the power of attornany so they can stream line the process...

This would be illegal without the Railway Labor Act. It would be considered an illegal combination under the Anti-Trust statues.

[Anonymous]

anti trust statues do not apply to the railway labor act, it does apply to the to the taft heartly act.

[Anonymous]

the utu on the bnsf railway in the powder river tried to break away from the national carries conference but was over turned by federal court in montana.

[bobwilcox]

QUOTE: Originally posted by [e-mail]

anti trust statues do not apply to the railway labor act, it does apply to the to the taft heartly act.

That is my point. If the Railway Labor Act went away the carriers would need to negotiate individually. However, to be a little more practilcle there would be hudge objections from the railroad labor negotiors and the railroads and brotherhoods to geeting rid of the RLA. They are comfortable in that enviroment and would fight a radical change. People hate change.

[Anonymous]

i disagree all union heads that i have ever talked to hate the railway labor act. the railway labor act means that unions cannot flex there muscles. from my experience all railway unions would love to get rid of the railway labor act so they can strike and show the carries that the carries have to follow all union agreements. the railway labor act gives to power to the railways.

[jockellis]

G'day, Y'all,
A friend's husband died with his hand on the throttle (of a heart attack). Wouldn't it have been fun to have had to go out there in a car and push his remains out of the seat in order to get the engine going again?
I think Mookie is correct in saying that such one-person arrangements would be only on short, relatively unprofitable runs.
But elimination of what Mark called the "misery premium" is probably a dream of not only UP's CFO but that of every other railroad. Hey, maybe railroads don't need presidents either!
Jock Ellis
Cumming, GA US of A

[samfp1943]

I thought that the BNSF, had at one time ,said that power naps were OK for on duty crewmen...if they were in a waiting capacity...who is going to mind the radio, will the dispatcher get the alarm clock?????

[Anonymous]

Oh boy here we go , to start with im a 11 yr employee of the uprr i work the COAL LINE in wyoming for those who do ot know ,there are 55 to 70 20,000 ton trains loaded , empty trains not included !!!!!! all in the area of 120 miles of track between shawnee JCT , and cabballo mine ( by gellete ,wyoming ).
All i have to say is this , will one man crews work ? yes , but not until countless lives are lost through trial and error , because try as they might ( and oh! will they )there will come a time that 4 eyes are better than 2 no matter how you slice it , no computer system in the world can take the place of that , how do i know this ? ive reviewed times in my career where i asked could a computer do what i did to stop an accident , and honestly , 50 % of them i could see that a computer could have helped , but in no way could the other 50 % EVER been helped by computer . I often wonder now at what cost is the RR going to endure , lives ,jobs...........to be competitve they say !!! HAHAHHAHHAHAHAHHA competitive with who ??????????????????????? The U.P.R.R is a big a business there is and we all know about big business dont we ?$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$profit at ANY COST !

[Mookie]

I realize I am just the dummy by the rails, but I remember 5 man crews. Each job was eliminated because technology usually got to the point that you didn't need a brakeman, a switchman, etc.

They replaced the 2nd person in the cab with a Conductor and did away with the caboose. But I don't see eliminating the 2nd person and replacing him with a puter and an empty seat. Seems to me you are still going to have times when you will need two humans to take the train from point A to point B.

Maybe we should take the powers that be and see if we can run the company with just puters in their jobs. Seems to me that some of these great thinkers could be replaced with just an electronic/metal "brain".......

[Anonymous]

6 Sigma will be the downfall of most lower jobs, Caterpillar and our hospitals are big on this waste reduction program, funning thing is you never see the cost cuts effect UPPER management, just the little guys, I am sure the bean counters are behind this wonderful stock making idea, many have probaly never seen a train except when it blocks their path on the way to the bank.

We need a 2 edged sword. What did Jesus say? Live by the sword and you will die by the sword.

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: [i]Originally posted by dthurman

We need a 2 edged sword. What did Jesus say? Live by the sword and you will die by the sword.

Ain't that the truth.
Allan.