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Tentative agreement reached on CP/Soo Line

MILWAUKEE -- Negotiations that began in May 1995 have resulted in a contract proposal for CP/Soo Line trainmen, conductors and switchmen represented by the United Transportation Union (UTU).

Ballots will be sent out for a membership ratification vote on Thursday, May 14, 1998, according to Dennis Baker, UTU general chairperson representing the railroad’s Milwaukee District. Approximately 900 UTU members will participate in voting, and results should be available by June 6, he said.

The pact closely mirrors the arbitrated national agreement that applies to operating employees on most major U.S. railroads, with a few minor modifications, and includes retroactive pay provisions going back to Dec. 1, 1995. If approved, the contract would be effective through Dec. 31, 1999.

"The CP/Soo Line wanted a lot of work-rule changes above and beyond what’s contained in the national agreement, but they didn’t get them," said Baker, who expects the membership to approve the proposed pact.

Officials agreed on a tentative contract "around 10 p.m. on Saturday night, May 2, 1998, following a marathon five-day bargaining session with the National Mediation Board in Washington, D.C.," Baker said.

Baker gave credit to UTU International Vice Presidents Bruce Wigent and Robert Earley, as well as Soo District General Chairperson Jim Beyer, for tenacity and perseverance in securing the tentative agreement.

"I think it’s a good agreement," said Baker, "and it offers us the hope that we won’t have to go out on strike again."

CP/Soo Line workers struck the carrier for 47 days in 1994 to force the resolution of issues that had been pending since 1988. Ultimately, a pact was overwhelmingly approved by year’s end.

Operating employees on most major U.S. railroads work under a national contract that resulted from an arbitrated agreement that became effective May 8, 1996, and runs through Dec. 31, 1999. Along with Amtrak, the Illinois Central and the Grand Trunk Western, the CP/Soo Line had opted not to participate in the national contract talks.

Commuter train collides with bus in Los Angeles

LOS ANGELES – A commuter train collided with a tow truck near downtown here on Wednesday night injuring at least 17 people.

Three people in the truck were critically injured and 14 of the 50 people on the train were hurt. None of the train passengers’ injuries was life threatening. The Metro Blue Line train was heading south when it hit the tow truck.

CAW says CN is facing a strike of lockout

WINNIPEG – The Canadian Auto Workers (CAW) union, which represents workers at the Canadian National Railway, says it expects to see members either go on strike or be locked out by the first week of June. The CAW is focussing on the CN and not the Canadian Pacific Railway at this time.

CAW and CN were in a conciliation process, but the union says the carrier has nothing new to put on the table and consequently the CAW will not meet again with the conciliation officer. Under the conciliation process, a union is not in a legal strike position until the conciliation officer releases it from the process.

The CAW says the main outstanding issues revolve around the pension plan, contracting out, number of hours worked per week and long-term disability plan. Talks between the CAW and CP are currently on hold. The CAW represents 4,000 shopcraft workers.

MTA rejects new buses until old ones are fixed

LOS ANGELES – Despite a big need for new buses, the MTA here is refusing to accept delivery of new buses until the manufacturer repairs problems with the buses now in use.

Engine fires have occurred four times and severely damaged buses using compressed natural gas. These failures have caused the MTA to twice temporarily remove its entire fleet of natural gas buses off the streets.

There have been no injures, but transit officials say that no buses will be put into service unless they are safe.

The MTA has received about half of the 300 new buses powered by compressed natural gas, giving it 447 buses using the cleaner burning fuel.

Ohio declares "Operation Lifesaver Awareness Week"

COLUMBUS – The week of May 10-16 has been declared Ohio Operation Lifesaver Week. The week will highlight highway rail grade safety and railroad trespass prevention in the state.

In 1997, total vehicle-train crashes at highway-rail grade crossings dropped by 6% from the previous year, with a 35% reduction over the last four years.

Guilford ready to bail out Pan Am but rival bid expected

MIAMI – Pan Am this week won the backing from a U.S. bankruptcy court for a $28.5 million buyout by Guilford Transportation Services, a New England railroad company.

But an investment group is getting ready to offer a richer bid, news reports say. The judge urged Guilford and Pan Am to work quickly to complete the deal and is skeptical that another better offer will materialize.

Ohio congressman blasts STB process on rail mergers

WASHINGTON – Congressman Dennis Kucinich, the former mayor of Cleveland, told a House subcommittee yesterday that the Surface Transportation Board (STB) needs to improve the procedures it uses to get local feedback on rail mergers.

Kucinich complained that the STB uses the same formula to evaluate acceptable traffic delays at rail crossings in rural areas as it does in densely populated suburbs, citing problems with Norfolk Southern’s and CSX’s proposals on the Conrail acquisition in Cleveland.

He said the STB okayed tripling rail traffic in suburban Lakewood, even though it is the most densely populated community between New York and Chicago and has more rail crossings than other communities in the country.