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UTU opposes CN takeover of Illinois Central; other Regional Meeting news

HOUSTON – During the UTU Regional Meeting here, which ended yesterday, International President Charles Little once again received enthusiastic support for his efforts to form a new labor organization with the BLE.

The 750 members here cheered when Little talked about the work now going on among the five committees appointed by UTU and BLE leadership to create a foundation for creating the new organization.

In other news, Little said that the UTU has filed a petition with the Surface Transportation Board (STB) opposing Canadian National Railroad’s acquisition of the Illinois Central. Little cited serious problems on the IC as the reason. The UTU did not oppose the acquisition of Conrail by CSX and Norfolk Southern nor Union Pacific’s takeover of the Southern Pacific.

About the serious problems on the UP, Little told members here, "If we don’t get the attitude changed at the UP, this railroad is not going to exist as we know it. UP is in dire, dire straights."

Little noted that the UP’s stock price has dropped by about 50% in value. He said that the UTU recently sold $2.3 million of UP bonds in order to protect the union’s financial interests.

Little said that the UTU’s main objective with UP is "to protect the jobs of our 15,000 UP members" and that if "other carriers come in to pick off parts of UP, they’d also experience the same problems as UP."

On Monday, Texas Congressman Nick Lamson (D-Beaumont) told a luncheon crowd that the UTU was responsible for additional Amtrak funding voted on recently in the House.

"Charlie Little was responsible for an additional $64 million in Amtrak funding," Lamson said. "Charlie makes a big difference in Washington."

Shipper groups ask STB to extend UP service orders

WASHINGTON – Several shipper groups asked the Surface Transportation Board (STB) to extend service orders that opened some Union Pacific Railroad tracks in Texas to other carriers.

The request filed by the National Industrial Transportation League, Chemical Manufacturers Association and Society of the Plastics Industry (SPI), says that "the service emergency is far from over" in the Houston-Gulf Coast area. They are looking for an extension until the board decides whether to make permanent changes.

UP's service problems began in the Houston area last summer resulting in extensive delays and congestion that spread to nearly all corners of the railroad. The STB imposed two emergency service orders in which Burlington Northern and Santa Fe and Texas Mexican Railway were authorized to serve some UP routes and customers. The service orders are due to expire on Aug. 2.

A UP spokesman said, "There is no longer justification for the emergency service orders. The service order addresses issues that have been resolved in Texas."

The shippers' petition asks the board to keep those orders in force until a separate proceeding studying those service issues is completed later this year.

UP said it will file a formal response to the three shipper groups next week. In addition to regulatory filings, UP is pursuing political avenues. The railroad this week hosted a facilities tour in Houston for key members of Congress and Capitol Hill staff to demonstrate its current service performance.

UP told the STB in recent weeks that congestion continues elsewhere on the railroad, most recently in Southern California and portions of the Southwest.

Questions also have arisen about the format of operating data that UP submits, since it does not break out operating statistics such as delays, average train speed and freight car handling for specific regions, such as Texas.

Amtrak ridership increase bodes well

WASHINGTON – A strong first half of 1998 ridership on Amtrak may suggest that U.S. train travel may be reviving after years of declining or lackluster results.

The nation's passenger railroad is expected to announce a 6% increase in ridership in the six months ended June 30 compared with a year earlier. If that rate continues, Amtrak would post its biggest yearly increase since 1988. Analysts say that, although airlines also are enjoying increasing ridership, some travelers have simply become too frustrated with rising airfares and clogged highways.

The ridership results couldn't come at a better time for the struggling railroad. It is still losing more than $400 million a year and remains heavily dependent on congressional subsidies. Analysts say the company would need a much larger and more sustained increase in ridership to seriously affect or improve the bottom line.

Few modes of passenger transportation have suffered more than Amtrak in recent years, with traffic falling12% from 1990 to 1996. Traffic rose 2.5% in 1997, but part of that was attributed to some restored service on long-distance trains.

Longshoremen shut down Oakland’s port

OAKLAND -- Longshoremen Wednesday morning shut down the Port of Oakland, Calif., in a dispute with waterfront employers that dates back to October 1997.

The Pacific Maritime Association, which represents waterfront employers, called Wednesday morning for an arbitrator appointed jointly by the PMA and the International Longshore and Warehouse Union to arbitrate the dispute. Workers returned to their jobs in the afternoon.

The labor dispute dates back to last October when longshoremen refused to cross a picket line set up at the Port of Oakland where the vessel Neptune Jade had docked.

Local labor groups manning the picket lines charged that the vessel had been loaded in England by a stevedoring company that had previously fired 500 union dockers at the Port of Liverpool.

Pioneer Railcorp sets shipping record

PEORIA, Ill. -- An all-time high for products shipped in any month, quarter or first half were reported today by Pioneer Railcorp. The shipments are one of the factors used in determining Pioneer's gross revenues.

In addition, Pioneer set a new carloadings shipped record for the fourth time in the past 12 months. The company also established an historical high with the second quarter ended June 30, 1998 with three consecutive record-setting months. The first half was the highest in the company's 12-year existence.

Michigan Southern Railroad led all Pioneer subsidiaries for the third straight month by tripling its carloadings hauling more nitrogen and limestone. Similarly, Decatur Junction Railway Co. almost doubled its output by transporting corn.