Summer 2006 - International Brotherhood of Teamsters

V O T E !Your RightV O T E !Your Responsibility A Magazine for Teamster Rail MembersSUMMER 2006Ra i lTe a m s t erBallots MailedOctober 10, 2006New England Central MembersApprove First BLET ContractPAGE 2

New England Central MembersApprove First BLET ContractAgreem ent Fea t u res Im p rovem ents in Ben ef i t s , Wa ge sBro t h erh ood of Locom o tive Engi n eers andTra i n m en (BLET) mem bers approved a new fo u r- ye a rco ll ective bargaining agreem ent with the New Engl a n dCen tral Ra i l road (NECR) in mid-Apri l .The agreem ent provi des wage increases of 12 percentover the life of the con tract , b ack pay, a n di m provem ents in work rules and discipline procedu re s .Abo ut 50 mem bers approved the new con tract by a 2-1m a r gi n .“ It’s the first BLET con tract on the property, and Icon s i der it to be an impre s s ive improvem ent over theold on e ,” said Ben Ma rti n , G en eral Ch a i rman at NECR.S pen cer Hoga n , a locom o tive en gi n eer who hasworked at the New England Cen tral since 1998 said,“ Everyone was happy to get the back pay.”Mem bers received back pay for the fo u r- m on t hperi od after ex p i ra ti on of the old con tract and pri or tora ti f i c a ti on of the new on e .“I work hard for my mon ey and we have a lot ofh a rdworking men at this ra i l road , and I think wede s erved a ra i s e ,” said Jesse W. Ho t te , a locom o tive en gineer at NECR for the past seven ye a rs . “ I ’m a father oft h ree with a be a utiful wi fe and a mort ga ge , and thism a ke things easier. It’s nice to get a ra i s e .”Providing ClarityIn ad d i ti on to providing wage incre a s e s , the new agreement cl a rifies language to pro tect workers’ ri ghts andprovi de them with a more def i n ed discipline procedu re .“A lot of gray areas have been cl e a red up,” Hoga ns a i d .BLET Local Ch a i rman Scott Ho l broo k , who hel pedn ego ti a te the new de a l , said the old con tract “was ri d-dl ed with carri er escape cl a u s e s .”Un fortu n a tely for BLET mem bers , s ome of t h o s ee s c a pe clauses were in the form of vague disciplineru l e s . “The old con tract was va g u e ,” said Ho l broo k , wh ohas been a locom o tive en gi n eer at NECR for just overf ive ye a rs . “ It was open for the com p a ny to do what itw a n ted to do.”The new con tract closes those loopholes and give sBLET mem bers bet ter pro tecti on .“The ph ra s e , ‘but not limited to,’ a ppe a red thro u ghout the old agreem en t ,” Ma rtin said. “ It would all owm em bers to be taken out of s ervi ce for just abo ut anyth i n g. Now we have a def i n ed agreem en t .”The import a n ce of a def i n ed agreem ent is that itp uts into wri ting many ben efits that some mem bersi n correct ly assu m ed that they were autom a ti c a lly en titl ed to.Ma rtin used bere avem ent days as an ex a m p l e .“Some of the guys loo ked at the con tract proposal andsaid ‘ we alre ady have this,’ ” Ma rtin said. “What theyf a i l ed to re a l i ze is that the rules defining thei rbere avem ent days were taken from the Ra i lAm erica handbook and were su bj ect toi n terpret a ti on by managem en t . Th o s eri ghts were gra n ted ri ghts that could easilybe taken aw ay. Now they are set in ston ein the agreem ent and not su bj ect toch a n ge .”Spelled-Out Processesfor Discipline, TimeClaimsMa rtin said the newly nego ti a teddiscipline rule is a vast improvement over the form er agreem en t .“ It spells out the process ande s t a blishes rules for appeals andthe use of F i rst Divi s i on , Pu bl i cL aw Boa rd or Special Boa rd ofAd ju s tm en t ,” he said. “The ti m eclaim handling rule now spells outthe appeals proce s s . It all ows forcon c rete doc u m en t a ti on for dispute si n s te ad of just word - of - m o uth te s timony.”“A lot of the yo u n ger men hereh ave never dealt with a union beforeand they don’t know what a union cando for them ,” Ho l brook said. “We nowh ave formal heari n gs and set sch edules fora ppeals and time cl a i m s . Now we have adecent gri eva n ce and discipline po l i c y.”2 | Rail Teamster | Summer 2006 | www.teamster.orgwww.teamster.org | Summer 2006 | Rail Teamster | 3

Protecting BLET WorkThe new agreem ent contains a scope rule that pro tects thework of l ocom o tive en gi n eers and con du ctors .“The new agreem ent provi des pro tecti on from rem o tecon tro l ,” Ma rtin said. “ If the carri er ever introdu ces new techno l ogy, t h en we hold the ri ghts to the work .”The scope rule also prevents the carri er from using contractorsand other out s i de laborers .“ Un der the old con tract , the carri er got around the cl o s eds h op agreem ent because they had the ri ght to use anyone of fthe street ,” Ma rtin said. “Th ey used a lot of con tractors , s e a-s onal help and part - time hel p.”Negotiating the ContractNECR mem bers had rej ected a previous con tract proposal in2 0 0 5 . Nego ti a ti ons on the latest deal began on Febru a ry 7,2 0 0 6 . The BLET went back to the table and su cce s s f u llyfo u ght for improvem ents in the wage sch edule and otherben ef i t s .“We pre s en ted the improved agreem ent to the mem bershipfor a second ra ti f i c a ti on vo te and it was ra ti f i ed by a 2-1m a r gi n ,” said Paul Wi n go, BLET Vi ce Pre s i den t , who hel pedn ego ti a te the con tract .Joining Wi n go on the nego ti a ting team were NECRG en eral Ch a i rman Ben Ma rti n , Local Ch a i rman LarryL a Rocque and Local Ch a i rman Scott Ho l broo k , who arem em bers of BLET Divi s i on 521 in Hawt h orn e , New Jers ey.“We but ted heads with managem ent on a lot of i s su e s , butt h ey were pret ty good to work wi t h ,” Ho l brook said. “As an ew Local Ch a i rm a n , it was a very good learning ex peri en cefor me. Ben , Paul and Larry were great guys to work wi t h .“ For a shortline ra i l road and this being on ly our secon dcon tract , I think we did pret ty good .”Restoring PrideAs part of the agreem en t , the term “tra n s port a ti on spec i a l i s t”was el i m i n a ted from the con tract and the crafts of l ocom o tiveen gi n eer and con du ctor were iden ti f i ed . The title ch a n ge wasi m portant to BLET mem bers .“ It was a matter of pri de ,” Ma rtin said. He noted that thel ocom o tive en gi n eer and con du ctor crafts were properlyn a m ed for ye a rs until Ra i l Tex purch a s ed the ra i l road in 1995.All em p l oyees certi f i ed as locom o tive en gi n eers wi ll receivethe en gi n eer ’s ra te of p ay, rega rdless of what duties they perform.“I get as mu ch work done as I can as safely as I can,” Ho t tes a i d . “The guys I work with do a lot of h a rd work , no matteri f t h ey ’ve been there two days or 15 ye a rs .”Heat and Seat ImprovementsOne major improvem ent for workers is an arti cle of the contractthat calls for all locom o tives to be equ i pped wi t hi m proved seats within the cabs. The new upgraded seats wi llro t a te and must be uph o l s tered , ad ju s t a bl e , and must havea rm re s t s .“Guys were riding around on toad s too l s , n ow we have( a ppropri a te) seats,” Ma rtin said.“The old seats were not great seats,” Hogan said.“ Ma n a gem ent has actu a lly started ch a n ging them out .” E achn ew seat costs approx i m a tely $2,800.The agreem ent also call sfor the carri er to maintainwe a t h er stri pping in thel ocom o tive s , an import a n trule con s i dering the co l dwi n ters in the Nort h e a s twh ere NECR opera te s .“Wh en yo u’re work i n gat 2 a.m. with the wi n dwh i pping thro u gh the cabat 40 miles per hour, it canre a lly cool your jet s ,”Hogan said. “ It’s great thatthe little things are being improved .”The con tract also calls for the carri er to rep l ace and maintainheaters in the locom o tive s .“ It was important to the guys who spend a lot of time inthe cabs,” Ho l brook said. “Wh en you have snow bl owing ina round the door and a heater that doe s n’t work , it makes fora long nigh t .”“The guys I work with doa lot of hard work, no matterif they’ve been theretwo days or 15 years.”–Jesse W. HotteImproved BenefitsMem bers wi ll en j oy va rious other improvem en t s . Provi s i on swithin the con tract call for the carri er to pay for mem bers’work boo t s , and water and ice wi ll also be provi ded .Mem bers wi ll also en j oyi n c re a s ed meal all ow a n ce s ,i m proved vac a ti on andbere avem ent ru l e s . The newbere avem ent rule all ows forf ive paid days of f for the lossof an immed i a te family memberand one paid day of f forex ten ded family. The newvac a ti on rule all ows mem bersto take vac a ti on days in on e -week increm en t s .One of the big sell i n gpoints to mem bers was the abi l i ty to acc u mu l a te sick days / f l exd ays . Mem bers earn six sick days per year and can bank up to1 2 . Th ey can also sell back days to the com p a ny for ex tra pay,s om ething they could never do before .“A lot of the guys around here don’t take sick days , so theyfelt as if t h ey were losing a ben ef i t ,” Ho l brook said. “ Now theyfeel like they are get ting that ben ef i t . A guy can sell them backat the end of the year if he needs a little ex tra mon ey aro u n dCh ri s tm a s .”BLET mem bers wi ll also en j oy a 401(k) savi n gs plan atNECR with a com p a ny match of up to $2,500 per ye a r.A new ei ght-hour basic day rep l aces the old six-hour day,wh i ch means mem bers can earn more mon ey. “ It’s notu n com m on to have a couple of six or six-and-a-half h o u rd ays from time to ti m e ,” Ho l brook said. “ Now the guys get am i n i mum of ei ght hours pay wh et h er they work ei gh t , six oreven three hours . Before , t h ey used to on ly get six hours pay.”About NECRTom my Mi ll er, the BLET’s Di rector of O r ga n i z i n g,h el pedor ga n i ze the workers at NECR, and they vo ted to join BLETin Septem ber 2004.The New England Cen tral Ra i l road (NECR) is aRa i l Am erica property in their 11th year of opera ti on afterCa n adian Na ti onal sold the form er Cen tral Verm ont Ra i l roadto Ra i l Tex in Febru a ry 1995. Ra i l Am erica assu m ed own ers h i pin 2000.The NECR owns and opera tes 330 miles of track fromAl bu r g, Verm ont to New Lon don , Con n ecti c ut , hauling prima ry com m od i ties su ch as fuel oi l , lu m ber, cem ent and gra i n .The NECR interch a n ges with CN, Pan Am erican Ra i lw ays( Gu i l ford ) , C S X , the Verm ont Rail Sys tem , Cl a rem ent andCon cord , and the Provi den ce & Worce s ter Ra i l road .“We do a lot of s wi tch i n g,” Ho t te said. “We’re real bu s yri ght now and all the guys , not just me, a re working hard .”Ho t te ack n owl ed ged the hard work of the BLET nego ti a-tors who worked on this new con tract . “The BLET/Te a m s tersh ave re a lly been there for us,” Ho t te said. “ Everybody workedh a rd to get this con tract don e .”4 | Rail Teamster | Summer 2006 | www.teamster.orgwww.teamster.org | Summer 2006 | Rail Teamster | 5

South Kansasand OklahomaShort Line Vo t e sfor BMWEDMa i n ten a n ce of w ay workers on the So uth Kansas Oklahom aRa i l road (SKOL) had been looking for re s pect and fairness on thej ob. This year they started the process by vo ting for repre s en t a ti onby the Bro t h erh ood of Ma i n ten a n ce of Way Employes Divi s i on( B M W E D ) .“A big re a s on to have a union is to even up the pay scale,”said Kelly Mc Ma n n , a SKOL em p l oyee and new mem ber of t h eB M W E D. Mc Mann had worked for Un i on Pacific for three ye a rspri or to starting with SKOL last ye a r.“We are aiming for job sec u ri ty,” said Ra n dy Moreh e ad , a tracki n s pector on the SKOL and newly - el ected Pre s i dent of B M W E DLod ge 2422. “The trains are get ting bi gger and the crews are gettingsmall er.” Moreh e ad also said that the com p a ny that owns theS KO L , Wa tco, has been hiring more and more con tractors wh i chbri n gs more instabi l i ty to the union work force .Boom tru ck driver Greg Bl ack m ore said that for him, ben ef i t sa re a big re a s on to have a strong union con tract . “The com p a nych a n ged our insu ra n ce one day and we had to start paying nearlydo u ble the amount we had been . We didn’t have a say in it.”Union Answers the CallLast year the BMWED’s Organizing Dep a rtm ent was con t actedby em p l oyees of the SKO L . Tim Mc Ca ll , Di rector of O r ga n i z i n g,and Ma rk Hem ph i ll , G en eral Ch a i rman of the Atch i s on , Tope k aand Santa Fe Sys tem Federa ti on , began work to inve s ti ga te them a keup of the short line.Th ey determ i n ed that SKOL had been spun of f f rom form erBu rl i n g ton Nort h ern Santa Fe (BNSF) property. Class 1 carri ersf requ en t ly spin of f what they con s i der to be less prof i t a ble lines,t hus all owing a new com p a ny, su ch as Wa tco, to purchase the lineand not be com pell ed to hire union mem bers .“We felt that these short line mainten a n ce of w ay workersn eeded the ben efits of a strong union con tract ,” Hem ph i ll said.“I work with mem bers ac ross the states of Kansas and Oklahom aso this was a good fit for me.”Tim McCall asserts that there are many short line railroadswhere engineers, trainmen and maintenance of way workerscould benefit by being part of the Teamsters Rail Conference.Workers Want Re s pec t , Raise in Wa ge s“These a re hardworking em p l oyees who de s erve good ben ef i t s ,s t a ble wages and re s pect on the job. We are going to work wi t hem p l oyees of S KOL in sout h ern Kansas and nort h ern Oklahom ato meet these goa l s .”Hem ph i ll and Mc Ca ll felt that the unit was united andt h erefore initi a ted an aut h ori z a ti on card campaign to begin therepre s en t a ti on proce s s .Big Issues, Short Line“Th ere were a ton of i s su e s ,” Bl ack m ore said. “Comp ti m e ,i n su ra n ce ben ef i t s , w a ges and others . We were with Blue Cro s sand Blue Shield for dental and health. My family and I go to theden tist on a regular basis. Th en up one day the com p a ny saidwe weren’t part of Blue Cross and Blue Shield any lon ger. Noone even told us it might ch a n ge .”More than one mem ber noted that there is a hu ge need toi m prove wages because the com p a ny is starting new em p l oyee sso low that they don’t want to show up for work .Mem bers on the SKOL have re s pon s i bi l i ty for nearly 244miles of track , m a ny of wh i ch are loc a ted in ru ral areas ofKa n s a s . Brush of ten grows up around the track bed , n ece s s i t a t-ing the need for a full crew of m a i n ten a n ce of w ay workers top ut things ri gh t .A Step Towards a ContractOn Febru a ry 3, 2 0 0 6 , the BMWED was certi f i ed as the du lyacc red i ted repre s en t a tive for mainten a n ce of w ay em p l oyeesat SKO L .Si n ce then , m em bers of the nego ti a ting com m i t tee as well asBMWED of f i cers and staff h ave begun meeting with Wa tco managem ent to hammer out the first con tract . “ Du ring our firs tm eeti n g, we immed i a tely began talking abo ut issues su ch ass en i ori ty, discipline rules and claims and gri eva n ce s ,” said DonGri f f i n , BMWED Di rector of S tra tegic Coord i n a ti on andRe s e a rch . “The bargaining com m i t tee ex pects that our futu rem eeti n gs wi ll be produ ctive and we can obtain a first con tractfor the mem bers that satisfies their need s .”“I com m end the SKOL mainten a n ce of w ay em p l oyees fors t aying foc u s ed ,” Mc Ca ll said. “These mem bers have taken thef i rst step in improving their lives and gaining the re s pect theyde s erve within their work p l ace .”6 | Rail Teamster | Summer 2006 | www.teamster.orgwww.teamster.org | Summer 2006 | Rail Teamster | 7

Memphis Rail WorkersVote TeamstersS ch edu l i n g , Wa ges Main Rea s ons to Vo te Un i onorkers that unload con t a i n ers from frei ght ra i lWtrains at the Mem phis rail ya rd vo ted for Te a m s terrepre s en t a ti on in May 2006. The 130 workers tra n s fercon t a i n ers and stack ch a s s i s .One of the main re a s ons for vo ting for theTe a m s ters was the com p a ny ’s favori tism on job assignmen t s .“ Put ting an end to vi o l a ti ons of s en i ori ty ri ghts isi m portant for me,” said Dem etrios Mc Ferren , wh oworks stacking chassis at the Mem phis ya rd . Mc Ferrensaid that even though he is pret ty high on the sen i ori tyl i s t , s om etimes he is passed over for assign m en t s .Bob Ra m s h aw, a Te a m s ter or ga n i zer assign ed to theTe a m s ters Rail Con feren ce , said that in ad d i ti on tos en i ori ty ri ghts vi o l a ti on s , the com p a ny has been forcingem p l oyees to perform more and more work .“Wh en the com p a ny first bid the job they were bi d-ding for one train for a shift, but it got to the poi n twh ere they are unloading two or three trains du ri n gone shift. The increase in frei ght rail traffic has beentrem en do u s .”“At some point this wi ll be at least a 200-250 pers onya rd . Pac Ra i l , the em p l oyer, has bo u ght servi ce stati on s ,re s t a u rants and other business that they plan to te a rdown to make way for a larger ya rd ,” Ra m s h aw said.Respect and Fairness“I was ti red of s eeing us being tre a ted unfairly,” s a i dKerry Dod s on , a Pac Rail em p l oyee for the past twoye a rs , wh en asked abo ut why he vo ted for theTe a m s ters . “Th ey used sen i ori ty wh en it ben ef i ted the com p a-ny. An d , m a n a gem ent talked down to us.”“We vo ted for the Te a m s ters to get re s pect ,” Dod s on said.“We are the lowest paid interm odal tra n s port workers in theMem phis area and we were determ i n ed to do bet ter.“ Ma n a gem ent tri ed to give us mon ey to improve ourw a ge s , but even then , the wages are bel ow the indu s try standa rd for Mem ph i s ,” Dod s on said. “We look forw a rd to bargainingfor our first Te a m s ter con tract .”Pa rt of the su ccess of this or ganizing campaign camea bo ut because rail con feren ce or ga n i zers Ra m s h aw and BobKreu zer were on hand to answer qu e s ti ons and formu l a tes tra tegy with the or ganizing com m i t tee .“Th ey all owed us to take the aut h ori z a ti on cards direct lyto our coworkers . We rel ayed more inform a ti on to each person this way. It was an ad ded punch ,” Dod s on said. “ P lu s ,h aving the two rail divi s i on or ga n i zers gave us an ad dedpush to go and get it don e .”Health CareMa ny of the Pac Rail workers wanted to have bet ter healthc a re so that became a focus of the union vo te proce s s .However, the com p a ny wasn’t providing answers abo utcovera ge or co s t .“We found out what other em p l oyees of this firm werep aying for health care ,” Dod s on said. “And we discoveredthat what they ch a r ge em p l oyees for ben efits wasn’t even —t h ey were ch a r ging different people different pri ces for thesame amount of people in a family.” Now the workers wi llpush to have good health care as part of t h eir co ll ective bargainingagreem en t .“These are dangerous job s ,” said Hen ry Perry,In tern a ti onal Tru s tee and Pre s i dent of Local 667 in Mem ph i s .“We want to make certain that we win good health care andben efits for our new mem bers at Pac Ra i l . Th ey are cri tical tokeeping this busy rail ya rd movi n g — hu n d reds of trains com ein here on a wee k ly basis. We wi ll en su re that our mem berst h ere are pro tected .”Growing IndustryWith more and more goods being imported into the Un i tedS t a te s , the nece s s i ty of f rei ght rail carrying those goods cannotbe undere s ti m a ted . The Mem phis ya rd is one example ofthe ball ooning natu re of the bu s i n e s s .“Our nu m bers in Mem phis could do u ble in the next 10ye a rs ,” said John Mu rphy, In tern a ti onal Vi ce Pre s i dent andDi rector of the Te a m s ters Rail Con feren ce . “The increase ini m ported goods is affecting our nati on’s ports and ra i l road s .As more and more em p l oyees are ad ded to rail carri ers’ ro ll s ,the need for strong union con tracts wi ll incre a s e , too. O u ror ga n i zers , Bob Ra m s h aw and Bob Kreu zer, wi ll con ti nue toassist in rail or ganizing drives to help edu c a te our newly -m er ged locom o tive en gi n eers , tra i n m en and mainten a n ce ofw ay workers abo ut the Te a m s ters Un i on .”“ Here in Mem phis we wi ll fight to win these new membersa con tract they can be proud of ,” Perry said. “G oodhealth care , w a ge s , s en i ori ty ri ghts and pen s i ons are the bre adand but ter of a Te a m s ter con tract . Pac Rail em p l oyees havep ut their trust in us and we wi ll guide them . Th ey ’ve takenthe firs t , co u ra geous step, n ow it’s time to nego ti a te ! ”8 | Rail Teamster | Summer 2006 | www.teamster.orgwww.teamster.org | Summer 2006 | Rail Teamster | 9

Vibration in Locomot ive CabsB a ck and Spinal In ju ries Ta ke To llAll locom o tives have ro t a ting partsand run on rails that som etimes su f ferf rom deferred track mainten a n ce .These con d i ti ons ex pose locom o tivecab occupants to a po ten ti a llyh a z a rdous envi ron m ental stre s s or,wh o l e - body vi bra ti on (W BV) .Degen era tive spinal disorders ,disc hern i a ti on , and ga s troi n te s tinal disorders have been linked tostanding or sitting for pro l on ged peri ods on a vi bra ting su rf ace , as cen a rio ex peri en ced daily by mem bers of the Bro t h erh ood ofLocom o tive Engi n eers and Tra i n m en (BLET) . “Wh o l e - bodyvi bra ti on” refers to mechanical en er gy oscill a ti ons wh i ch aretra n s ferred to the body as a wh o l e , u su a lly thro u gh a vi bra ti n gsu rf ace su ch as a seat or platform . Typical ex po su res may occ u rwhile driving autom obiles and opera ting heavy equ i pm en t ,i n cluding locom o tive s .Vi bra ti on in locom o tive cab envi ron m ents has been stu d i ed inthe U. S . and Finland. S tudies invo lving wh o l e - body vi bra ti ona m ong heavy equ i pm ent opera tors have been con du cted in theU. S . , Ca n ada and In d i a . Most studies invo lving heavy equ i pm en topera tors indicate high levels of both noise and vi bra ti on in thec a b. The studies revi ewed de s c ri be the phys i o l ogical and psych o-l ogical stress placed on heavy equ i pm ent opera tors by W BV. Inad d i ti on to spinal disorders , the studies de s c ri be fati g u e ,h e ad ach e s , nausea and dec re a s ed perform a n ce among heav yequ i pm ent opera tors as a re sult of W BV. Locom o tive en gi n eersm ay ex peri en ce similar adverse health sym ptom s .Locomotive Cab EnvironmentA report to Con gress in Septem ber of 1 9 9 6 , wri t ten by theFederal Ra i l road Ad m i n i s tra ti on , ti t l ed “ Locom o tiveCra s hworthiness and Cab Working Con d i ti on s” s t a tes that vi bration comes from three major source s . Th ey inclu de :■ Rec i proc a ting equ i pm ent (en gi n e s , com pre s s ors , a l tern a tors ,su perch a r gers and the like ) ;■ Su s pen s i on sys tem ; a n d■ Irreg u l a ri ties in the track .Any imbalance in rec i proc a ting equ i pm ent wi ll gen era tevi bra ti ons wh i ch are tra n s ferred direct ly to the veh i cle body.Track wh i ch is not perfect ly level and stra i ght com bines wi t hgravi ty and inertia to cre a te veh i cle body accel era ti ons that re su l tin vi bra ti on . The report state s , “The seat, e s pec i a lly if m o u n ted tothe fra m e , is the pri m a ry means thro u gh wh i chvi bra ti ons are tra n s ferred to cab occ u p a n t s ,a l t h o u gh vi bra ting con trols or su rf ace scan affect hands and arms loc a lly.” Th ereport discusses the ef fect of tra i ns peed on vi bra ti on ex po su re levelsas well .Study ResultsAccording to a Na ti on a lIn s ti tute of O cc u p a ti on a lSa fety and Health (NIOSH),a revi ew of the litera tu rei n d i c a tes a po s i tive assoc i a-ti on bet ween ex po su re toW BV and back pain. Th ereport state s : “ [ l ] a bora torys tudies have dem on s tra tedW BV ef fects on the vertebrae, i n tervertebral discs, and su pporting mu s c u l a tu re . Bo t hex peri m ental and ep i dem i o l ogical evi den ce su ggests that W BVm ay act in com bi n a ti on with other work - rel a ted factors su ch aspro l on ged sitti n g,l i f ti n g,and awk w a rd po s tu res to causei n c re a s ed risk of b ack disorder.” It is well known that locom o tiveen gi n eers and tra i n m en must sit for ex ten ded peri ods of ti m e .Shifts of 12 hours are not uncom m on .A stu dy publ i s h ed in the AIHA Jo u rn a l 1 eva lu a ted W BVex po su re among locom o tive en gi n eers and com p a red differen tl ocom o tive s , s e a t s , and opera ting con d i ti on s . The stu dy con clu d-ed that locom o tive en gi n eers are ex po s ed to rel a tively high level sof vi bra ti on and that current locom o tive cab seats appear inadequa te to redu ce po ten ti a lly harmful vi bra ti ons and shocks thattra n s fer to the seated cab occ u p a n t . Ol der seats were found tol ack basic er gon omic fe a tu res rega rding ad ju s t a bi l i ty and su pportto maintain good po s tu re . The stu dy, wh i ch was su pported bys a fety repre s en t a tives of the BLET and U. S . ra i l road com p a n i e s ,was con du cted using state - of - t h e - a rt vi bra ti on - m e a su rem en tequ i pm ent and accepted measu rem ent guidel i n e s .According to the stu dy, “Th ere are abo ut 7 mill i on workers inthe Un i ted States ex po s ed to wh o l e - body vi bra ti on , wh i ch maycause discom fort , dec re a s ed perform a n ce and vi gi l a n ce , and present a health and safety ri s k . In gen era l , l ong term ex po su re towh o l e - body vi bra ti on has been assoc i a ted with low - b ack painand back disorders , accel era ted spinal degen era ti on ef fect s , d i s ch ern i a ti on , and nerve root damage [sciati c a ] .” Ot h er studiesh ave dem on s tra ted po s i tive assoc i a ti ons bet ween W BV and otherp s ych o l ogical and phys i o l ogical con d i ti on s .Need for ActionW BV in locom o tive cabs remains a pri ori ty of the Federa lRa i l road Ad m i n i s tra ti on (FRA ) . The Rail Sa fety Advi s oryCom m i t tee (RSAC) on Cab Working Con d i ti ons has inve s ti ga teds everal cab con d i ti on health and safety probl em s , but has notad d re s s ed W BV. The FRA asserts in a Septem ber 2005 reg u l a toryreport to the RSAC that “the Cab Working Group is ex pected tocon s i der ad d i ti onal issues (su ch as vi bra ti on) in the futu re .”BLET safety repre s en t a tives are convi n ced that the evi den cesu pports a more aggre s s ive approach by the ra i l road indu s try toad d ress W BV. The current In tern a ti onal Standard (ISO 2631-4)(2001) on W BV may provi de useable guidelines for the eva lu a-ti on of vi bra ti on ex po su res and pred i cted health ef fect s , h oweverit doe s n’t com pel the indu s try to proactively ad d ress the issu e .Equ i pping locom o tives with bet ter seating that is based on there sults of c u rrent re s e a rch on seat de s i gn may help to redu ceex po su res ex peri en ced by locom o tive en gi n eers .Recom m en d a ti ons for the improvem ent of cab con d i ti on ssu gge s ted in the AIHA stu dy inclu de the eva lu a ti on of con tro lh a n dle po s i ti on , d i s p l ay panel s , com mu n i c a ti on equ i pm ent andseat attach m en t . Con founding factors for back pain and inju rysu ch as working po s tu re s , repe a ted lifti n g, smoking ands tre s s - rel a ted job factors should also be inve s ti ga ted . “The FRAcould take a big step forw a rd by inve s ti ga ting these issues andpromu l ga ting a standard for improved cab de s i gn ,” said TomPon to l i ll o, BLET Legi s l a tive and Reg u l a tory As s i s t a n t .1 W h ol e - Body Vi b ra tion Expo su re Stu dy in U. S . Ra i l road Lo co m otive — AnErgonomic Risk As se s s m en t , E ck a rdt Jo h a n n i n g, Si ef ri ed Fisch er, E berh a rd Ch ri s t ,Benno Gore s , Paul Landsber gi s , Am erican In du s trial Hygi ene As s oc i a ti on Jo u rn a l63:439-466 (2002)10 | Rail Teamster | Summer 2006 | www.teamster.orgwww.teamster.org | Summer 2006 | Rail Teamster | 11

SECURITYin the StatesCom mu n i ty Rail Sec u ri ty Bi lls Ad d ress Is sue at the St a te LevelState Legislative Board Chairmen of the Brotherhoodof Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET) andState Legislative Directors of the Brotherhood ofMaintenance of Way Employes Division (BMWED)are working together in their states to address the issueof rail security through the passage of Community RailSecurity bills.Their efforts to secure state-level rail security legislationcomes at a time when the Department of Homeland Security,to the disappointment of the Rail Conference and to membersof the U.S. House of Representatives, issued voluntary securityguidelines for railroads instead of enforceable regulations.On March 31, the Department of Homeland Securityannounced its security plan for railroad operators. However,the plan is merely a suggestion. It is nothing more than a listof voluntary measures that railroad companies may implementif they so choose.The Community Rail Security bills, on the other hand,would be enforceable legislation that would require rail companiesto adhere to strict safety and security rules. TheCommunity Rail Security bills are written to address many ofthe issues raised in the Teamsters’ rail security report, “HIGHALERT: Workers Warn of Security Gaps on Nation’sRailroads,” published in 2005.The report documents a lack of safety and security measuresin this post-September 11 era and details many examplesof rail carriers’ operational security and safety gaps that putthe public at risk.Illinois, Indiana and Nebraska are among the states wherethe Rail Conference has introduced or plans to introduceCommunity Rail Security bills.“This is a coordinated effort to heighten rail securityawareness on the state level, which will influence the federalgovernment to follow the states’ lead,” said Raymond Holmes,BLET Vice President and National Legislative Representative.“The Community Rail Security bills are written in a mannerthat would prevent them from being preempted by federallaw, which generally governs the railroads.”Improving Communication BetweenStates and RailroadsThe Community Rail Security bills address the concerns ofmany at the state level, including rail workers, suppliers, policeand fire departments, elected officials and citizens.As part of the coordinated effort, most of the CommunityRail Security bills contain similar language in order to specificallyaddress Rail Conference concerns. For example, the followinghighlights are from legislation introduced in Indianabut can also be found in most other bills:■ Every operator of rail facilities in the state shall provide tolocal and state law enforcement and emergency officials arisk assessment of all rail facilities in the state.■ Establishes requirements for the risk assessment.■ All rail operators shall have in place a program to protectrail infrastructure in the state from acts of sabotage, terrorismor other crimes.12 | Rail Teamster | Summer 2006 | www.teamster.orgwww.teamster.org | Summer 2006 | Rail Teamster | 13

■ Sets standards for the infrastructure protection program,for a program to protect community facilities, and forcommunication between rail operators and state and locallaw enforcement and emergency officials.■ Provi des that the Dep a rtm ent of Tra n s port a ti on has aut h ority to fine any rail opera tor or any other pers on covered bythe act up to $50,000 per day for certain vi o l a ti on s . Pro h i bi t sp u n i tive acti on against any em p l oyee reporting a vi o l a ti on ofthe act , i n cluding em p l oyees of con tractors , su bcon tractorsand others performing work on rail fac i l i ti e s .This legislation would also require the railroads to describethe communication procedures with state and local officials,law enforcement officers, and emergency responders in theevent of an act of terrorism or other crime. Also, the railroadswould be required to train railroad crews as first responders.“Our members need to have training on whom to contactand what to do in case of a security threat,” said Bill Verdeyen,Chairman of the BLET’s Indiana State Legislative Board.“There was also language dealing with unattended locomotivesneeding to be locked, securing locomotives from unauthorizedentry, and background checks for contractors or subcontractorsof the rail operator. This is a great bill that willproduce a safer work environment for our members.”Under intense lobbying from the rail corporations, however,many of the Community Rail Security bills have notpassed. Nevertheless, the BLET and BMWED legislative officialswill continue their efforts in the upcoming term.“Rail security along the nation’s 230,000miles of track is a perilous vulnerabilityin the security of our homeland.”–Jim Hoffa, Teamsters General PresidentLack of Security Cited in HearingsDuring a recent hearing of the Transportation Committee inNebraska, Spence Morrissey, BMWED’s Nebraska StateLegislative Director, provided personal and member observationson lack of training and security in Burlington NorthernSanta Fe (BNSF) yards. He also provided observations aboutthe Union Pacific Bailey Yard during the same hearing. Thehearing was the result of the Local Community Rail SecurityAct introduced in the Nebraska legislature.He reported on several recent incidents that occurredthroughout his inspection territory. One incident occurred sixdays prior to the hearing and involved the derailment of twotrains containing hazardous materials (one with six cars ofchlorine). The trains were unmanned and unsecured for 12hours in the neighborhoods of Lincoln, Nebraska.Morrissey reported that, in discussing the legislation withthe Senators after they killed the bill, they were consistent intheir response. They said that the railroads were doing everythingthat could and should be done and to expose their planswould be counterproductive. Three senators all said, “They aredoing it, you employees just don’t see it.”Passage of Rail Security Bills a PriorityMembers of the Rail Conference plan to aggressively pursuethe passage of the Community Rail Security bills in the comingyear. BMWED Illinois Assistant State Legislative DirectorJohnny Oeth III said there was value in pushing for the legislation.“What has come out of this bill is thatrail labor now has a voice in the securityof the railroads,” Oeth said. “We sure gotthe attention of all the railroads.”Teamsters, Congress BlastBush on Rail SecurityThe Rail Conference and members of theU.S. House of Representatives expressedoutrage over the Department ofHomeland Security’s announcement onMarch 31 that it was issuing voluntarysecurity guidelines, as opposed tomandatory regulations, for railroad companiesthat transport the most hazardouschemicals in the United States.“Rail security along the nation’s230,000 miles of track is a perilous vulnerabilityin the security of our homeland,”said Jim Hoffa, Teamsters General President. “For theBush administration to allow their own department ofHomeland Security to issue security guidelines which are onlyvoluntary is insensitive to both public and worker safety onthe rails.”While the sec u ri ty guidelines issu ed by the Bush ad m i n i s-tra ti on note that many hazardous materials carri ed by rail havethe po ten tial of causing significant nu m bers of f a t a l i ties andi n ju ries if i n ten ti on a lly rel e a s ed in an urban envi ron m en t , t h edoc u m ent also states that “All measu res are vo lu n t a ry.”Rep. Markey: Security Not an ‘April Fools’ JokeRep. E dw a rd Ma rkey (D-MA) is the aut h or of l egi s l a ti onthat would requ i re the Dep a rtm ent of Hom eland Sec u ri ty toi m pose ad d i ti onal sec u ri ty requ i rem ents for shipm ents ofex trem ely hazardous materi a l s , i n cluding re - ro uting of su chs h i pm ents around areas that raise particular sec u ri ty con cern swh en ever po s s i bl e . The legi s l a ti on was recen t ly adopted as ana m en d m ent to H.R. 4 4 3 9 , a bi ll to reor ga n i ze the Tra n s port a-ti on Sec u ri ty Ad m i n i s tra ti on , du ring a Hom eland Sec u ri tyAP/Wide WorldSu bcom m i t tee mark u p.“ Un fortu n a tely, this joke of a proposal has de adly seri o u scon s equ en ces for the sec u ri ty of toxic ch emicals tra n s portedac ross our nati on’s rail net work . The Bush ad m i n i s tra ti onm o t to con ti nues to be ‘ In In du s try We Tru s t ,’ and (the Ma rch31) noti ce is the latest example of the Bush ad m i n i s tra ti on lettingcompanies dec i de just what sec u ri ty prec a uti ons should bet a ken . This ad m i n i s tra ti on is doing nothing more than askingi n du s try to do us a favor and please pro tect the public—this isan abdicati on of its re s pon s i bi l i ty to the Am erican peop l e .”The RisksE ach day hu n d reds of thousands of s h i pm ents of ex trem ely hazardous materials travel thro u gh den s ely pop u l a ted areas and nearc ri tical infra s tru ctu re su ch as bri d ges and power plants. E n o u ghch l orine to kill 100,000 people in half an hour is ro uti n ely conta i n ed in a single rail tanker car that ro lls ri ght thro u gh crowdedu rban cen ters wi t h o ut adequ a te sec u ri ty pro tecti on .In 2003, an Ohio-based Al Qaeda operative was arrested forplotting to collapse a bridge in New York City or derail a trainAP/Wide World14 | Rail Teamster | Summer 2006 | www.teamster.orgwww.teamster.org | Summer 2006 | Rail Teamster | 15

■Amtrak Long-Term Funding: The issue of long-termfunding for Amtrak remained unresolved in 2005. Shorttermfunding was taken care of in appropriations for thecarrier, but long-term funding was still in question. Thereare several bills which would provide much needed longtermfunding.National Negotiations: There is a chance this year thatCongress will move to take part in freight rail negotiations,as a built-in provision of the Railway Labor Act.Remote Control Operations: Remote control is still anissue that remains unresolved. The Conference feels thatthe railroads should not be allowed to run remote controllocomotives free from Federal Railroad Administrationoversight. The Conference continues its opposition to thecurrent state of these operations.Oppose Intrusive Criminal Background Checks: The RailConference considers the following to be an essential partof the background check process to ensure that employerscannot summarily dismiss employees without cause: confidentialityof records, privacy protections, due process proceduresto allow correction of errors and consideration ofmitigating circumstances and a list of criminal offensesthat truly define a security risk continue. The governmentshould require all railroad subcontractors and theiremployees receive standardized training and undergo thesame background checks as required for rail employees.Positive Train Control Systems: PTS is on the NTSB’smost wanted list. This technology would prevent train collisions,over-speed accidents and protect roadway workerwork limits by requiring automatic control systems tooverride mistakes by human operators. Over the last threedecades, the Safety Board has investigated a long list ofcollision accidents in which a positive train control systemthat incorporated collision avoidance could have preventedtrain collisions. While several railroads have taken actionto implement PTC technology, the NTSB feels that theseefforts have been inadequate. The system must not takeaway any of the duties of locomotive engineers and trainmen.The Rail Conference is first and foremost concernedwith protecting the lives of its members. PTC can serve asa tool to make sure locomotive engineers and trainmen gethome alive. However, if the technology is improperlydeployed, the Conference fears that it could distract locomotiveengineers and interfere with their vigilance, endangeringboth the train and its lading, and persons who mayaccess the right of way.Infrastructure Improvements: As seen on the NortheastCorridor and around the country, railroad carriers haveallowed the infrastructure of our nation’s railroads todegrade. Railroad companies must be forced to maintain■■■in Washington, D.C. He has since pleaded guilty. Last year,an accidental crash of a Norfolk Southern train containingchlorine in Graniteville, South Carolina, killed nine peopleand caused hospitalizations and widespread evacuations.House Democrats Blast DHSDemocratic Members of the U.S. House of RepresentativesCommittee on Homeland Security also blasted theDepartment of Homeland Security (DHS) for its failure toissue mandatory security standards for the nation’s railroadsto safeguard the transportation of toxic chemicals.Fifteen members of the Homeland Security Committeesent a letter to DHS Secretary Michael Chertoff on April 3demanding an explanation why his department, on March 31,issued voluntary security guidelines for railroads instead ofenforceable regulations.The Democrats also question why the railroads are notheld to the same high security standards as other modes oftransportation.“The Coast Guard already mandates security standards inour nation’s ports, both to protect our economic infrastructureand to protect the people living nearby,” the Committeewrote. “The Department should be doing the same thing forthe elements of the rail system used to transport TIH (Toxic-By-Inhalation materials) and other hazardous materials.”In the letter the Committee members write: “We areextremely disappointed with your decision not to require railroadsto meet certain security standards regarding the movementof toxic-by-inhalation (TIH) materials by rail. Instead,you have decided to issue recommended security actions thatare purely voluntary.“It is time for your Department to take a more active rolein securing our nation’s rail systems. Terrorists have alreadytargeted rail systems in the past few years.”The Democratic committee members also wrote: “Ournation depends on your Department to ensure there is somelevel of baseline security to prevent terrorist attacks on TIHmaterials transported by rail, and to reduce the consequencesof such an attack. Voluntary standards are not enough.The committee members argue that enforceable regulationsneed to be put in place, echoing the sentiments of the RailConference and other rail labor organizations.Amtrak, National Negotiations onRail Conference AgendaIn addition to the Community Rail Security bills, the RailConference is working on other legislative and bargainingissues in the coming year, including:■■■■Rep. Ed Markey (D-MA)the tracks and the surrounding areas, in spite of the costsof doing so. There were several accidents this year whichoccurred as a result of problems with infrastructure—cracked rails, dark territory.Workers’ Rights: Right-to-work legislation is up for a votein several states. This legislation is an effort to weaken theability of workers to join together and bargain collectively.LM-30 issues: The LM-30 changes by the Department ofLabor have put an undue burden on labor organizations.These changes need to be rolled back. Accountabilityshould not be this difficult to achieve.16 | Rail Teamster | Summer 2006 | www.teamster.orgwww.teamster.org | Summer 2006 | Rail Teamster | 17

Congressman Fightsfo r Rail SafetyU. S . House Com m i t tee Ta kes Aim at Sec u ri ty Is su e sRail Te a m s ter recen t ly met with Rep. James Oberstar( D - M N ) . The con gressman is the chair of the Ho u s e’sTra n s port a ti on and In f ra s tru ct u re Com m i t tee and hasbeen a ch a m p i on of rail mem bers for many ye a r s .The “High Alert” re p o rt was the first publicationthat detailed actual rail employees’ experiences.Do you think having this type of on-theground information helps illustrate rail labor’ssafety and security concern s ?Rail workers are tru ly the eyes and ears of the ra i li n du s try. T h ey are in the most direct po s i ti on to spot sec u-ri ty risks and po ten tial thre a t s , so learning abo ut thei ractual experi en ces with safety and sec u ri ty on our nati on’sra i l roads thro u gh the ‘ Hi gh Al ert’ report is inv a lu a bl e , a n dwi ll become even more so as we con ti nue to deb a te ra i ls a fety and sec u ri ty in this Con gre s s .What is the Tr a n s p o rtation and Infrastru c t u reCommittee doing to keep rail safety and securityat the fore f ront of concerns that the Depart m e n tof Homeland Security should be addre s s i n g ?I introdu ced legi s l a ti on in the 108th Con gress and aga i nin the 109th Con gress that would ad d ress sec u ri ty risks onour nati on’s ra i l road s . S ep a ra tely, I have introdu ced rail safetylegi s l a ti on for the past several Con gresses and I intend toi n trodu ce new rail safety legi s l a ti on this su m m er.Un fort u n a tely, the Rep u blican leadership has ref u s ed tom ove any of these bi ll s . Last ye a r, the Dem oc ra tic leader s h i pof fered my rail sec u ri ty bi ll as an amen d m ent to Hom el a n dS ec u ri ty aut h ori z a ti on and app rop ri a ti ons bi ll s , but thatef fort was again bl ocked by the Rep u blican leader s h i p.My bi ll , H . R . 2 3 5 1 , requ i res the Sec ret a ry of Hom el a n dS ec u ri ty and the Sec ret a ry of Tra n s port a ti on to devel opand implem ent a ra i l road sec u ri ty assessmen t , a ra i l roads ec u ri ty plan, and pri ori ti zed recom m en d a ti ons fori m p roving ra i l road sec u ri ty within 180 days . It requ i re sthe Sec ret a ry of Hom eland Sec u ri ty and the Sec ret a ry ofTra n s port a ti on to exec ute a mem ora n dum of a greem en tgoverning the roles and re s pon s i bi l i ties of the Dep a rtm en tof Hom eland Sec u ri ty and the Dep a rtm ent ofTra n s port a ti on in ad d ressing ra i l road tra n s port a ti on sec u-ri ty matter s .The bi ll aut h ori zes more than $1 bi ll i on to safeg u a rd ourn a ti on’s rail net work from terrorist thre a t s , $500 mill i on ofwh i ch is aut h ori zed for grants to state and local governmen t s , ra i l road carri er s , rail labor, and others for co s t si n c u rred for preven ting or re s ponding to terrorist activi ti e sor other interc i ty passen ger rail and frei ght rail sec u ri tyt h re a t s .Am trak would receive $100 mill i on for sec u ri tyu pgrade s , p lus a total of $597 mill i on to make fire and life -s a fety improvem ents to tunnels on the Northeast Corri dorin New York , Ba l ti m ore , Ma ryland and Wa s h i n g ton , D. C .This funding is cri tical to pro tect Am tra k’s 25 mill i on passen ger s , t wo - t h i rds of wh i ch travel along the targetedNortheast Corri dor.A total of $50 mill i on is aut h ori zed for the Sec ret a ry ofHom eland Sec u ri ty to cre a te a re s e a rch and devel op m en tp rogram to improve frei ght and interc i ty passen ger ra i ls ec u ri ty. The Sec ret a ry of Hom eland Sec u ri ty is alsorequ i red to devel op a nati onal plan for public outre achand aw a reness and a study on passen ger, b a gga ge andc a rgo screen i n g .Moreover, my bi ll focuses on som ething other bi ll si gn ore : the import a n ce of en su ring that key workers have then ece s s a ry su pport and training requ i red to pro tect our ra i ls ys tem , wh et h er those workers are ra i l road em p l oyees orem ergency re s pon der s . H . R . 2351 requ i res rail carri ers top rovi de sec u ri ty training to these workers to en su re that theya re prep a red for po ten tial threat con d i ti on s . The bi ll alsos tren g t h ens wh i s t l ebl ower pro tecti ons to en su re that worker swho report or iden tify a sec u ri ty risk wi ll not face retri buti onor ret a l i a ti on from their em p l oyer s . A rail worker should noth ave to ch oose bet ween doing the ri ght thing on sec u ri ty andhis or her job. D e s p i te wh i s t l ebl ower pro tecti ons in curren tl aw, em p l oyees sti ll experi en ce em p l oyer hara s s m ent andi n ti m i d a ti on wh en reporting acc i den t s , i n ju ries and others a fety con cern s . My bi ll en su res that wi ll en d .The legi s l a ti on also en su res that em ergency re s pon ders area ble to get re a l - time inform a ti on for dealing with hazardo u sm a terials and passen ger ra i l road incidents thro u gh theDan Gates, BMWED Government Affairs Director and Rep. James Oberstar (D-MN)Opera ti on Re s pond In s ti t ute . The bi ll provi des Opera ti onRe s pond with $2.5 mill i on for fiscal years 2005 thro u gh2007 for dep l oying and expanding the Opera ti on Re s pon dE m ergency In form a ti on Sys tem sof t w a re , devel oping andi m p l em en ting a ra i l road infra s tru ct u re mapping progra m ,and establishing an alert and messaging capabi l i ty for usedu ring em ergencies invo lving frei ght and passen ger ra i l road s .Fi n a lly, the bi ll inclu des legi s l a ti on that the House hasoverwh el m i n gly passed in previous Con gre s s e s , the Ra i lPa s s en ger Disaster Fa m i ly As s i s t a n ce Act , wh i ch en su res thatthe needs of the families of the vi ctims of terrorist attacks oracc i dents are ad d re s s ed . This bi ll was similar to legi s l a ti onwe en acted in 1996 to ad d ress the tre a tm ent of families ofthe vi ctims of a i rline cra s h e s . We should do no less for thosewho ch oose to ri de our nati on’s passen ger tra i n s .What can our members do to urge Congress tomake substantial security and safety re q u i rementsthat the rail corporations must follow?E n co u ra ge your mem bers to call or wri te their mem ber sof Con gress and urge them to co s pon s or and pass legi s l a ti on ,su ch as H.R. 2 3 5 1 , to stren g t h en rail safety and sec u ri ty now.Do you think that the railroad bombings inMadrid and London had any substantive impacton rail security policy in the U.S.? Or do youthink that the attacks only provided a temporaryup-tick in attention to the issue?The terrorist attacks in Mad rid and Lon don shouldh ave served as a wake-up call to this Con gress and thisad m i n i s tra ti on . The fact is that the federal govern m entis spending more than $4 bi ll i on a year on avi a ti ons ec u ri ty but it’s spending just over $100 mill i on on ra i ls ec u ri ty, even though five times as many people taketrains as planes every day. The frei ght ra i l roads haveadopted some sec u ri ty measu res and Am trak hast a ken some prec a uti ons to en su re passen ger safety ands ec u ri ty, but the ra i l roads can’t do the job them s elve s .The federal govern m ent must take the lead in en su ri n gthat the nece s s a ry steps are taken to ad d ress sec u ri tyrisks on our nati on’s ra i l road s , while protecting railp a s s en ger s , rail worker s , and citi zens who live or work18 | Rail Teamster | Summer 2006 | www.teamster.orgwww.teamster.org | Summer 2006 | Rail Teamster | 19

in the com mu n i ties in wh i ch ra i l roads opera te .R e - regulation has been mentioned by severals o u rces. What is your take on the post-Staggers era?Twen ty-six years ago, Con gress vo ted to dereg u l a te then a ti on’s ra i l road indu s try and en acted the Staggers Act . T h era i l road indu s try at that time was in dire stra i t s . Years of l owp rof i t s , deferred mainten a n ce and ill - con ceived reg u l a torypolicies had re su l ted in a very sick indu s try. Con gress wasa s su red that en actm ent of the Staggers Act was the cure . Wewere told that econ omic reg u l a ti on had out l ived its usef u l n e s s ,and that it was preven ting the indu s try from com peting ef fectivelywith tru ck s , b a rges and pipel i n e s . We were told that ra i l-road earn i n gs were the lowest of a ny tra n s port a ti on mode andi n su f f i c i ent to gen era te funds for nece s s a ry capital improvemen t s , and that failu re to ach i eve incre a s ed earn i n gs thro u ghs tru ct u ral reforms would re sult in ei t h er furt h er deteri ora ti onof the rail sys tem or the nece s s i ty for ad d i ti onal federal su b s i dy.So we en acted the Staggers Act . It was a su ccess for the ra i l-roads in terms of p rof i t s . Twen ty-six years later, t h ere is moredemand for rail tra n s port a ti on than the ra i l roads can sati s f yand revenues are at record high level s . While the Staggers Actre su l ted in a rebi rth of the frei ght rail indu s try, it did haveu n i n ten ded con s equ en ce s , wh i ch can best be su m m ed up wi t hone word : con s o l i d a ti on . Si n ce 1980, 63 Class I ra i l roads havecon s o l i d a ted into just four major Class I frei ght ra i l roads servingthe en ti re Un i ted State s — t wo in the East and two in theWe s t — wh i ch con trol more than 95 percent of the ra i l roadbu s i n e s s .At the same ti m e , the rail net work was con s o l i d a ted . T h eS t a ggers Act reforms as well as su b s equ ent In ter s t a teCom m erce Com m i s s i on policies and reg u l a ti ons made it easierfor the Class I ra i l roads to shed unprodu ctive lines (andel i m i n a te the jobs of ra i l road em p l oyees who worked thosel i n e s ) . As a re su l t , the rail net work deteri ora ted from 252,845ro ute-miles to almost half of what it is tod ay: 141,000 ro ute -m i l e s . And ra i l road em p l oym ent is abo ut one qu a rter of wh a tit was pre - S t a gger s .This unpreceden ted con s o l i d a ti on has re su l ted in en ti res t a te s , regi ons and indu s tries becoming captive to a singl eClass I ra i l road . Sh i ppers and manu f act u rers who have nocom peti tive opti ons for shipping their produ cts to marketp ay an avera ge of 20.9 percent high er rail ra tes than others h i pper s . Some captive shippers say they would be wi lling top ay incre a s ed ra tes if t h ey felt they were get ting adequ a te service from the ra i l road s . But in fact servi ce and rel i a bi l i tyh ave decl i n ed . This can have an adverse impact on Te a m s term em bers as some of these captive shippers have had to shutdown plants because of su ch high tra n s port a ti on co s t s . T h ePortland Cem ent As s oc i a ti on recen t ly te s ti f i ed before theRa i l road Su bcom m i t tee that rail ra tes are so high for som eU. S . - b a s ed cem ent manu f act u rers that con s tru cti on com p a-nies are importing cem ent from China to redu ce con s tru c-ti on co s t s . Those lost shipments mean less revenue for thera i l road s .The ra i l roads claim that a 25 percent infra s tru ct u re taxc redit wi ll help re s o lve the con cerns of c a ptive shipper s . I amrevi ewing that propo s a l . In the meanti m e , we can en act legi s l a-ti on now — H . R . 2 0 4 7 , the Ra i l road Com peti ti on Im p rovem en tand Re a ut h ori z a ti on Act—that wi ll provi de rel i ef to the state s ,l ocal com mu n i ties and captive rail shipper s . Su ch rel i ef c a n n o tbe accom p l i s h ed alone thro u gh capital improvem en t s . Som ereforms to redu ce imped i m ents to com peti ti on wi ll also needto be en acted .What do you think will be the key legislativeissues for rail labor moving into the future?One issue that is on the minds of Te a m s ter rail mem bersis the rail carri er s’ p roposal to redu ce the size of opera ti n gc rews on a train from two per s ons to one per s on .I have serious con cerns abo ut this proposal and its po tentialto impact the safety of our nati on’s frei ght ra i lw ays .Po s i tive train con trol and other el ectronic managem ents ys tem s , i f a pp rop ri a tely implem en ted , m ay help redu ce thenu m ber of train acc i den t s , f a t a l i ties and inju ries over ti m e .However, reducing crew size on a train from two per s ons toone per s on may act u a lly nega te any safety improvem entsthese tech n o l ogies ach i eve .I com mu n i c a ted my con cerns in a Decem ber 16 let ter tothe Pre s i dent of the As s oc i a ti on of Am erican Ra i l roads and theCh a i rman of the Na ti onal Ra i lw ay La bor Con feren ce , and Itold them that I would oppose any ef fort to move their propo s a lforw a rd unless I am fully convi n ced that no safety issues exist.The issue of long-term funding for Amtrak hasbeen largely unresolved. What do you believe isthe future for the carrier?Am trak plays a key role in fulfilling Am eri c a’s tra n s port a ti onn eed s . Con ge s ti on dom i n a tes our airports and highw ays , a n ddel ays are ra m p a n t . With fuel pri ces soa ring to more than $3per ga ll on , we a ry drivers are turning to passen ger rail for rel i ef .In s te ad of s t a rving Am tra k , we ought to be inve s ting in it.Ra i l roads thro u gh o ut the world receive some govern m en tsu pport to su pp l em ent the revenues paid by passen ger s . Ch i n ai nvests $16 to $20 bi ll i on annu a lly in passen ger ra i l . Japan andG erm a ny devo te 20 percent of t h eir total annual tra n s port a ti onbu d get to passen ger ra i l , totaling $3 to $4 bi ll i on each . A host ofo t h er nati ons also invest heavi ly in passen ger ra i l — Fra n ce , fore x a m p l e . Wh en I was a gradu a te student at the Co ll ege ofEu rope in Bel giu m , p a rt of our work was to travel to vari o u sp a rts of Eu rope to see different econ omic sys tem s . I travel edf rom Pa ris to Lyon , almost 300 miles. It was a fo u r- a n d - a - h a l f -hour tri p. I went back in 1989 as chair of the Avi a ti onSu bcom m i t tee . We were fo ll owing the trail of Pan Am 103. Ijust wanted to experi en ce the TGV [Fra n ce’s high - s peed ra i ln et work ] . The same trip took just over two hours. At one poi n t ,the train passed a small airf i eld wh ere a twi n - en gine airc ra f th ad taken of f , and the train passed the plane at 180 mph .We can do the same here in the Un i ted State s . The federa lgovern m ent just needs to step up and take ch a rge with as trong program to su pport passen ger ra i l .a strong program tosu pport passen ger ra i l .How could railroad union members better workto achieve their goals legislatively?First comes edu c a ti on . Workers need to stay inform ed .T h ey need to know what legi s l a ti on is pending in Wa s h i n g tonand how it wi ll affect them , t h eir families and their livel i h ood s .T h ey also need to fo ll ow su ch bi lls thro u gh each step of t h el egi s l a tive proce s s .T h en comes activ a ti on . T h ey need to let their mem bers ofCon gress know their feel i n gs on the legi s l a ti on . Let ter s , e - m a i l sand ph one calls are ef fective . Face - to - f ace lobbying is evenm ore ef fective . T h ey should attend their Sen a tor s’ a n dRep re s en t a tive s’ town meeti n gs and speak up. If po s s i bl e , t h eyshould visit Con gre s s i onal of f i ces and make their case. T h eyshould work toget h er so many can speak with one voi ce . T h i sis the essen ce of dem oc rac y.www.teamster.org | Summer 2006 | Rail Teamster | 21

an ace in the cab.M i c key Gage Excelled on the Court, in the Cab, at the State CapitalAs a locom o tive en gi n eer for Un i on Pac i f i cRa i l roa d , Mi ckey Gage kept his eyes on the track sand his hand on the thro t t l e .But aw ay from the ra i l roa d , he con cern ed himsel f wi t hb ackhands and foreh a n d s . He was also a lobbyist with apret ty mean lob.G a ge has en j oyed playing tennis for the last 30 ye a rsand is one of the top amateur tennis players in the Un i tedS t a te s , h aving won a nati onal ch a m p i onship in 1998 inthe State Games of Am erica held in St. Lo u i s .He was also one of the more po l i ti c a lly active membersof the Bro t h erh ood of Locom o tive Engi n eers andTra i n m en (BLET), h aving served as Ch a i rman of t h eMi s s o u ri State Legi s l a tive Boa rd since 1998. He bega nhis reti rem ent on May 31, 2006 .A Balancing Act“ It was hard to balance my working on the ra i l roa d ,u n i on work , f a m i ly re s pon s i bi l i ties and ten n i s ,” he said.“I was gen era lly in the legi s l a tive of f i ce Mon d ay thro u ghThu rs d ay and I worked on the ra i l roa d on wee ken d s .“The on ly way I was able to play in tennis to u rn a-m ents was to sch edule them around my vac a ti on wee k s .I had to limit that to three weeks a ye a r. Now I have anu m ber of to u rn a m ents alre ady lined up.”Su pport from his family was important to Gage . “ Mywi fe Ba rb a ra was one of my bi ggest su pporters ,” he said.“She travel ed with me to the to u rn a m ents and gave meen co u ra gem ent on the co u rt . She does not play anym orebecause of a knee inju ry a few ye a rs ago. My daugh terSa ra h , who works for ESPN, does not play ei t h er, but shes ti ll comes and watches me play wh en she can.”A Winner on the CourtThe State Games of Am erica are model ed after theOlym p i c s , with athletes com peting in wi n ter and su m m ereven t s . But inste ad of p i t ting athletes from differen tn a ti ons against one another, the State Games of Am eri c ais a com peti ti on for amateur athletes within a state . Th eS t a te Games of Am erica is affiliated with ch a ri t a bl egroups su ch as Ch a racter Co u n t s , the Boys and Girl sClubs of Am erica and the Na ti onal Sen i or GamesAs s oc i a ti on .Af ter the state games are com p l eted , t h ere is norm a llya nati onal to u rn a m ent for wi n n ers of certain even t s ,i n cluding ten n i s . G a ge em er ged as nati onal ch a m p i on in1998 and came in third place in 2000.He also com petes in the Show Me State Games, acom peti ti on for athletes in Mi s s o u ri . G a ge has won severalstate titles in that statewi de com peti ti on , most recen t lyin 2005 for the men’s singles 55-and-over category.A Lobbyist, To oWh en he was not in a locom o tive cab or onthe tennis co u rt , G a ge was lobbying the U. S .Con gress and the Mi s s o u ri State Gen era lAs s em bly on beh a l f of BLET mem ber s . Hewas Sec ret a ry - Tre a su rer of the Mi s s o u ri StateLegi s l a tive Boa rd for ei ght years pri or to hisel ecti on as Ch a i rman in 1998.He is parti c u l a rly proud of a bi ll passed by theS t a te Gen eral As s em bly in 2004.“ It was our yell ow light bi ll (SB772), wh i ch all owsc rew vans to display a yell ow flashing light wh en theya re stopped loading or unloading passen ger s ,” G a ges a i d . “ Pri or to this bi ll becoming law, on ly em ergen c yveh i cl e s , mail carri ers and sch ool buses could displaythe yell ow-flashing lights lega lly.”G a ge also su cce s s f u lly lobbi ed for the safe opera ti onof rem o te con trol locom o tives within his state .“ In the last four years we passed a rem o te con tro ll ocom o tive safety re s o lut i on in St. Lo u i s ,” he said. “ Ia ppe a red before the St. Louis Boa rd of Al derman andp re s en ted a Power Point pre s en t a ti on on the hazards ofrem o te con trol locom o tive s . Also helping me in St.Louis was Local Ch a i rman David Grimes of D ivi s i on42 and my daugh ter Sarah who ran the pre s en t a ti on .“An d , the Mi s s o u ri State A F L-CIO passed a similarrem o te con trol safety re s o lut i on in 2004.”Learning From a MentorForm er Mi s s o u ri Ch a i rman Lavon Danner served as am en tor to Gage and taught him the legi s l a tive proce s s .“As the Sec ret a ry - Tre a su rer, I accom p a n i ed Dannera round the capitol while he was lobbyi n g . I met all theS t a te Rep re s en t a tives and Sen a tor s , so wh en I wasel ected Ch a i rman after Danner reti red , I was alre adyacqu a i n ted with the legi s l a tors and the proce s s .”He is gra teful to Danner as well as the BLET memberswho all owed him to serve for so many ye a r s .“I re a lly feel that being State Legi s l a tive Ch a i rm a nhas made me a bet ter per s on ,” G a ge said. “T h ere is nobet ter feeling than wh en som eone calls needing hel pon a certain issue and you can re s o lve it. I think it is ina ll of us to help our fell ow man and this po s i ti on hasa ll owed me to fulfill that.”Helping Those Less FortunateGage is also able to fulfill his charitable spirit throughtennis. He has participated in numerous charity eventsover the years and plans to spend more time as a tennisinstructor in retirement.“I plan on being invo lved in the city parks progra m s ,wh i ch te ach young people how to play ten n i s ,” he said.“I think it is in all of us tohelp our fellow man andthis position has allowedme to fulfill that.”– M i c key Gage“I hope to te ach u n derp rivi l eged ch i l d ren to play. Iam a licen s ed tennis te ach er so I feel I could be veryh el pful in te aching kids.”O n ly recen t ly reti red on May 31, 2 0 0 6 , G a ge isp roud of the legi s l a tive work he ach i eved on beh a l fof the BLET and its mem ber s .“I look back and feel good abo ut the years I servedthe union knowing that in some small way I made ad i f feren ce ,” he said.22 | Rail Teamster | Summer 2006 | www.teamster.orgwww.teamster.org | Summer 2006 | Rail Teamster | 23

BLET & BMWEDLogo ApparelNow Av a i l a b l eSport shirts, caps, T-shirts,jackets and other items withthe BLET and BMWED logosare now available fromAmerican Products.The James R. HoffaMemorial Scholarship Fund2006 Essay ContestTopic: Describe how the TeamstersUnion has benefited your familyand explain how you might useyour education to involve thelabor movement in your future.For Students attending a communitycollege, 4-year institution or a technical/vocationalprogram, Age 23and Younger, who are Children orGrandchildren of Teamster Members.For an application, contactyour Teamsters Local Union officeor visit www.teamster.orgDeadline for submissions isSeptember 29, 2006All products areunion-made in the UnitedStates of America.Visit the Teamsters store web site atwww.teamstersmerchandise.comor call 1-800-272-512024 | Rail Teamster | Summer 2006 | www.teamster.org