UTU News Digest - Thursday, March 18, 1999

UTU Daily News Digest

Information of interest to operating railroad and transportation employees

Thursday, March 18, 1999

WASHINGTON: Labor Issue Dooms Rail Reform In House, Shippers Told

WASHINGTON -- A "standoff" in Congress over how to handle labor union collective bargaining contracts has made passage of rail reform legislation in the House politically infeasible, congressional aides said Wednesday.

Demands by rail unions, upset about the Surface Transportation Board's treatment of collective bargaining contracts in railroad merger cases, have made even passage of an STB reauthorization bill doubtful, said Glen Scammel, majority staff counsel with the House Subcommittee on Ground Transportation.

"If we can't crack the labor issues, (rail legislation) is politically not feasible," said Scammel, who stressed that he was stating his personal opinion and not that of House lawmakers.

"The forecast for moving any kind of STB bill is very bleak," Scammel said.

The pessimistic assessment came during a daylong forum in Washington sponsored by rail customers as a prelude to lobbying Congress for legislation to promote rail competition.

The effort, being spearheaded by the Alliance for Rail Competition, looks to capitalize on sympathetic lawmakers in the Senate Commerce Committee and attach rail reform language to legislation reauthorizing the STB, the federal rail regulatory agency.

Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas, who chairs the committee's surface transportation panel, has said she would agree to "balance" rail-reform language as part of a planned reauthorization bill. On Monday, Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., introduced a bipartisan bill containing many of the competitive reforms advocated by the shippers.

"There needs to be more attention on the House side," Jacks Wells, senior minority aide for the House Ground Transportation Subcommittee, told the shippers.

Labor has all of the House Democrats and moderate Republicans in the House locked up, and the railroads have "driven wedges" between individual unions by persuading some to support the industry's stance against competitive reforms, Wells said.

He told the group their cause needs more support in the House than that of Rep. Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., whose strong remarks in favor of rail competition legislation prompted a standing ovation from the shippers earlier in the forum.

But the labor bargaining contract issue potentially threatens the Senate's consideration of rail competition legislation as well.

Kerry Ates, Rockefeller's legislative counsel, said the West Virginia Democrat is interested in adding language to his rail bill addressing the collective bargaining issue.

"The board shouldn't be able to abrogate (labor) contracts," Ates declared.

ILLINOIS: Tire marks key to Amtrak wreck probe

BOURBONNAIS, Ill. -- As the crossing gates clanged their warning, the train rolled down the track in the darkness and a truck pulled near the danger zone.

Two nights earlier at the same site and at about the same time, Amtrak's City of New Orleans train plowed into a tractor-trailer loaded with steel, killing 11 people and injuring more than 100 others.

The "black box" aboard the main engine has revealed that the accident happened at 9:47 p.m. CST (10:47 p.m. EST). It also shows that the train was going 79 mph -- the maximum speed but within the track's legal limits -- and that the engineer blew the train's whistle to warn any vehicles that it was approaching.

This time, investigators were standing by as they used a reenactment Wednesday night to help figure out what happened in the seconds before the nation's deadliest train wreck in three years.

"The main purpose is to see who could see what and when,'' said Robert Lauby, director of railroad safety for the National Transportation Safety Board.

Investigators have also talked again to the engineer, who remained in the hospital, and the driver of the truck, John Stokes of Manteno.

NTSB spokesman Phil Frame would not comment on what the engineer said or the nature of his injuries, or what information the brief telephone interview with Stokes produced.

There were reports Tuesday that the engineer said immediately after the crash that the truck driver had tried to zigzag his semitrailer through the crossing gates after they had come down.

NTSB member John Goglia said authorities are analyzing two tire tracks in the mud at the crossing that "would indicate that somebody tried to go around the gates.''

The reenactment was conducted at about 9:45 p.m. -- almost the same time the City of New Orleans approached the crossing 50 miles south of Chicago on Monday. This time, a single engine moved slowly down the tracks, sounding its horn while crossing gates came down and warning lights flashed. A tractor-trailer sat parked behind the gates.

A string of freight cars was also placed on a nearby side track to see if they could have impaired the truck driver's view. NTSB officials spent more than an hour taking measurements but declined to comment.

Earlier, family members of those who died boarded two buses and were driven from their motel to the crash site. They gathered in a massive hug and placed a wreath and pink, yellow and white roses near the front of the crash.

Some brought dental records to help identify the victims.

Stokes, who was driving on a probationary license after three speeding violations in Indiana, told investigators he had already driven into the crossing when the gates came down.

But authorities said there was no indication the gates had failed to work. The red signal light flashes for five seconds before the gates descend and then drivers already in the crossing have 26 seconds to clear it.

Goglia said results of a breath test for the 58-year-old driver for alcohol had been completed. "All I know is that it didn't show he went over the limit,'' he said.

The truck was hauling tons of steel rods produced at a nearby mill when struck by the train, which had been traveling at 79 mph. The onrushing twin locomotives swept the heavy truck aside and smashed into two railroad cars on a nearby siding before stopping about 50 yards south of the crossing.

When the locomotives stopped, many of the 14 cars hurtling along behind plowed into the engines, jackknifed and piled up in a heap of twisted metal. Diesel fuel began to burn and the fire crept under a double-deck sleeping car ripped open by the impact with a locomotive.

All those who died were in that car, authorities said.

Survivor Jeanine Sharp Radl said her life has been shattered.

"I just sat on the pavement and people all around me were cut and bleeding and everybody was screaming and I said, 'My children, my children, my family. My mom's gone. My daughter's gone.'"

In addition to those killed, another 116 people were injured, including 49 who were hospitalized, some with amputated fingers or toes, at least one with a broken back and others suffering burns.

WASHINGTON: Amtrak supports passengers, families in Bourbonnais

WASHINGTON -- Amtrak, in the wake of the City of New Orleans accident, continues its efforts to provide assistance to the passengers and families of injured passengers, and to fully cooperate with investigating agencies.

Amtrak President George D. Warrington said, "We will do all that we can to help the passengers and family members of those who lost loved ones in this tragic accident. At the same time, we are diligently working with the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) and local officials on all fronts."

Warrington directed Amtrak's expanded outreach efforts, which have included:

Increasing the number of Amtrak senior customer services managers on site; providing teams of customer service personnel at both local hospitals; and assigning two Amtrak representatives to work with each of the families of the fatally injured, including updating them on information as it becomes available.

Arranging for and underwriting additional family members' travel to Bourbonnais, including plane travel, limousine service and accommodations at two area hotels.

Bringing clergy members and other hometown support network members to the scene to aid families.

Supplementing outstanding American Red Cross services with professional counselors provided by Amtrak;

Providing complimentary clothing, toiletries and other personal items from a local department store; providing complimentary meals at area restaurants, including arranging for a local restaurant to provide room service to one of the hotels; and arranging free long distance calling services for families.

Amtrak is working closely with the NTSB and has provided extensive information about the passengers traveling on the City of New Orleans. In response to a public comment from an NTSB official, Amtrak has made an official request for clarification about what further information may be needed.

According to Warrington, Amtrak staff will continue providing around the clock assistance for as long as passengers and families request it.

Warrington thanked local businesses and organizations for their help. "The Red Cross has been extraordinary in supporting our passengers and their family members. Area businesses, including Wal-Mart, Cracker Barrel Restaurant, the Hampton Inn, and Holiday Inn Express have also been extremely supportive of Amtrak's efforts to make families as comfortable as possible as they struggle to come to grips with this tragedy."

Amtrak has also worked closely with the Illinois Central Railroad to restore passenger service along the Chicago to New Orleans route. Amtrak's train #58, the northbound City of New Orleans, which departed from New Orleans, La. on March 16, operated through to Chicago this morning. Amtrak trains #391 and #392, the Illini, will operate between Chicago and Carbondale, Ill. on schedule today.

WASHINGTON: Accurate passenger lists in crashes an issue

WASHINGTON -- In the months after the deadly wreckage of Amtrak's City of New Orleans is cleared from the Illinois town where it slammed into a tractor-trailer, one of the top issues facing federal officials will be how to quickly get accurate passenger lists from a train crash.

The chief federal investigator into Monday night's deadly collision about 50 miles south of Chicago suggested Wednesday that new federal rules might be on the way to ensure railroads quickly and sensitively pass along information to families of disaster victims.

There have been conflicting reports of how many people were on board the fated train traveling from Chicago to New Orleans. Even the death count was revised down Wednesday by National Transportation Safety Board member John Goglia to 11 from 13.

"That is an issue we are going to look into," Goglia said in a news conference near the crash site in Bourbonnais, Ill.

NTSB spokesman Jamie Finch said that though Amtrak has been working hard to get the most up-to-date passenger list possible, accurate manifests are particularly difficult for rail accidents because of trains' many entry and exit points. And that is exactly the reason that the NTSB may eventually recommend new regulations after it completes its evaluation of the Illinois crash, he said.

Stricter requirements were enacted over the past three years for the aviation industry after complaints about how airlines treated families in the wake of plane crashes.

Legislation passed by Congress in 1996 and 1997 requires U.S. and foreign air carriers to develop plans for addressing the needs of plane crash victims and their families. New federal rules that took effect last fall also require next-of-kin information on all U.S. citizens on all international flights.

Goglia also touched off a public squabble with Amtrak by accusing the passenger railroad of giving out conflicting passenger information that hampered efforts to determine whom had died and was still missing.

Amtrak denied it had been anything less than completely cooperative.

Goglia later backpedaled from his earlier criticism, saying in a statement issued at NTSB's headquarters here that he had met with Amtrak officials and was satisfied with its efforts to provide information.

"It would be inappropriate to leave the impression that Amtrak was failing in its duties to passengers," he said. Earlier, Goglia had told reporters he was "very concerned" about how long it took Amtrak to get an accurate list of those on board.

"There is a wide gulf between many of the documents provided us by Amtrak with how many passengers were on the (train) and how many are missing still today," he said. "At this point, all that I can say is that all of that is unreliable."

Amtrak spokeswoman Noreen Ellis reacted with surprise, saying Amtrak had worked "around the clock" to give the NTSB accurate and extensive information. By Wednesday night all 216 people aboard the train had been accounted for.

In a statement, the passenger rail line said, "In response to a public comment from an NTSB official, Amtrak has made an official request for clarification about what further information may be needed."

NEW YORK: L.I. passenger train hits tractor

GLEN COVE, N.Y. -- Glen Cove City Police report that a westbound Long Island Railroad passenger train collided around 10 a.m. today with a tractor trailer carrying a crane.

The train from Oyster Bay was enroute to Penn Station and carrying about 50 passengers, most of which were students enroute to the St. Patrick's Day parade in Manhattan, a spokesman for the Police said. Police report there were no serious injuries.

CANADA: Industrial League supports CN/IC merger

MONTREAL -- Canadian National Railway Co. said the National Industrial Transportation League has agreed to support its proposed merger with Illinois Central Corp. before the U.S. Surface Transportation Board.

The board will hear oral arguments on the proposed merger Thursday and vote on the transaction March 25.

In a news release, the company said the league represents the transportation interest of shippers. It said that in return for its support, the merger partners have agreed to provide shippers with certain protections and guarantees to assure effective competition. The company said the league was concerned about the potential for reduced competition stemming from the marketing alliance it and Illinois Central signed with Kansas City Southern Railway Co. in April.

WASHINGTON: Letter from freight carrier CEOs to Members of Congress

WASHINGTON -- Chief executive officers of the nation's Class I freight railroads today sent the following letter to members of Congress in which they point out that reregulation of freight railroads would have devastating consequences to the industry, their customers and North America's economic future.

Legislation to reregulate the railroad industry was introduced in Congress earlier this week.

The text of the letter follows:

On March 3, over two hundred individuals from across the country representing rail management, labor, vendors, and short line and regional railroads inaugurated industry meetings with Members of Congress to discuss the value of North America's privately owned freight rail industry and the record of progress we've built over the last 20 years.

With rail issues before the Congress again this week, we continue to make our case for maintaining the regulatory environment that is enabling us to improve our service and expand our capacity. The Staggers Act of 1980 partially deregulated the railroads and freed us from a regulatory framework that nearly strangled the industry. For the first time, market forces governed rates and service, and enabled the industry to invest $230 billion in infrastructure over the last twenty years. This investment contributed to dramatic improvements in efficiency, safety and significant reductions in rates charged our customers.

At the same time, we remain committed to working with our customers through daily straightforward communications to help resolve differences and develop lasting solutions. We've made progress; still we recognize more needs to be done. That is why, under the auspices of the Association of American Railroads, the industry has embarked on a series of customer meetings.

As a direct result of these meetings, we became the first industry to publish weekly performance measures in categories vital to our customers. We also reached agreements dealing with rate and service issues, the first of their kind, with the National Grain and Feed Association and the American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association.

As leaders of North America's Class I railroads, we believe our record of capital investment over the past twenty years -- $230 billion for locomotives, freight cars, safety, new communications technology, intermodal hubs and new track and yards -- has helped make our industry critically important to North America's economic prosperity and competitiveness in the global marketplace. But this is only the first step. Over the next twenty years, we will invest the equivalent of the cost of rebuilding our entire rail network twice.

We believe change to the regulatory environment that would put the rail industry's access to capital at unnecessary risk would be unwise. As we said in our congressional meetings earlier this month, we see a bright future for North America's economy and railroads are the vital link to that future.

Thank you for your continued interest in our industry's success.

The original letter is signed by:

Robert D. Krebs
Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer
BURLINGTON NORTHERN SANTA FE CORPORATION

Paul M. Tellier
President and Chief Executive Officer
CANADIAN NATIONAL

R.J. Ritchie
President and Chief Executive Officer
CANADIAN PACIFIC RAILWAY

John W. Snow
Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer
CSX CORPORATION

John D. McPherson
President and Chief Executive Officer
ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD

Gerald K. Davies
Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer
KANSAS CITY SOUTHERN RAILWAY

David R. Goode
Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer
NORFOLK SOUTHERN CORPORATION

Richard K. Davidson
Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer
UNION PACIFIC CORPORATION

CALIFORNIA: High-speed rail authority okays tax to pay for new system

SAN JOSE, Calif. -- California's High-Speed Rail Authority approved a series of financing policies, including support of a sales tax, to fund the construction of a statewide network of 200 mile an hour trains.

The policies will shape the financing package the Authority will submit to voters in November 2000.

At its monthly public meeting the authority concluded that a statewide, dedicated sales tax is the preferred funding method to finance construction of the 680-mile high-speed train system, which will carry passengers from the San Francisco to Los Angeles in under three hours.

"High-speed rail needs a predictable revenue source that can best ensure the stability of the project," said Executive Director Mehdi Morshed. HSRA will determine the amount and length of the sales tax by August 1999.

The authority also said it assumes funding from government agencies for local stations will not be part of the financing plan.

CALIFORNIA: Court says illegal immigrants can vote in union elections

SAN FRANCISCO -- A federal appeals court has ruled that illegal immigrants working for a company can vote in union elections.

In a 3-0 decision Wednesday, a panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the National Labor Relations Board's conclusion that all regular employees -- including those who may be subject to termination in the future -- are eligible to vote on whether they want to be represented by a union.

A contrary ruling would allow employers to manipulate elections by deciding who could vote and by using threats of deportation to discourage union support, the court said. Also, companies that had violated the law by employing illegal immigrants could take advantage of their own wrongdoing by nullifying otherwise valid union elections.

The court upheld an order requiring a 50-employee sauna and furniture manufacturer in Redwood City to recognize and negotiate with a Carpenters Union local that won a 1996 representation election. A lawyer for the company, Kolkka Tables and Finnish-American Saunas, said an appeal was likely.

ARIZONA: America West, flight attendants in second day of last-ditch talks

PHOENIX -- While America West Airlines flight attendants meet with the company and federal mediators in a final effort to head off a strike, their colleagues in Phoenix are preparing to begin halting flights randomly.

Negotiators agreed to meet again this morning with members of the National Mediation Board in a second day of so-called super-mediation. Neither side would comment after the first seven-hour session ended Wednesday night.

Unless an agreement is reached, flight attendants could strike as early as 12:01 EST Saturday, a minute after the cooling-off period ends. The airline's 2,300 flight attendants say they will stage a series of random, unannounced work stoppages -- dubbed CHAOS for "Creating Havoc Around Our System."

The Association of Flight Attendants Council 66 demonstrated the unpredictability of a strike by drawing names of cities and descriptions of possible strike strategies in a "CHAOS Lottery" Wednesday at Sky Harbor International Airport.

Apparently the exercise was for show, not tell, since union officials would not say which cities would be targeted when or in what manner.

"Our plans involve a host of cities and a host of destinations. America West won't be able to take care of its operations if we strike," said Jeff Zack, a spokesman for the union. "The point is to put pressure on the company to show them we're serious."

America West, the nation's ninth-largest carrier, with hubs in Phoenix, Las Vegas and Columbus, Ohio, has said it may shut down the airline rather than submit to the flight attendants' plan. That could leave more than 100,000 passengers stranded over the weekend.

Michael Boyd, an airline analyst from Golden, Colo., said he doubts the airline will follow through with its grounding threat. "Sure, CHAOS is very disruptive, but by shutting the whole airline, (the company) would anger not just some, but all passengers, and not just the flight attendants, but all employees. I don't think it's really an option," Boyd said.

What's more, he said, a shutdown would be a huge loss to shareholders of America West Holdings Corp., of which America West is the major component. A shutdown by America West, which carries only about 3 percent of the nation's passenger traffic, would be unlikely to snarl air traffic as much as the sick-out by pilots last month at AMR Corp.'s American Airlines.

Still, a shutdown or a strike by the Tempe, Ariz.-based carrier could wreak havoc on cities like neighboring Phoenix, where America West accounts for more than 40 percent of all traffic and Las Vegas, where the airline is second only to Dallas-based Southwest Airlines.

For Phoenix, the strike deadline falls on a weekend when college basketball fans are converging on the city for the NCAA basketball tournament, joining baseball fans already feasting on Major League spring training, sun-seeking golfers and students on spring break.

Las Vegas, too, could be hit hard as it prepares for the arrival of an estimated 110,000 people for a construction industry trade show that opens Tuesday. America West serves 53 domestic destinations overall and eight cities in Mexico and Canada.

The labor dispute between America West and its flight attendants has been brewing for more than four years. Its attendants have been working without a contract since voting to unionize in 1994, three years after America West filed for Bankruptcy Court protection from creditors and employees took pay cuts.

"The (union) members want the company to put dollars on the table that show a commitment to the future and sacrifices of the past," said union President Bill McGlashen.

About two-thirds of America West's flight attendants earn the top-scale salary of $23,800. Top-scale flight attendants at rival Southwest Airlines earn $41,200. The flight attendants also want the same daily expenses pilots receive, $1.80 an hour away from their base city. Currently, the attendants get no per diem.

In a letter to flight attendants in February, America West chairman William Franke said the company could not meet union demands without compromising its competitive position. But with the company posting record profits of $108.6 million last year -- up 45 percent from the previous record of $75 million in 1997 -- the union is adamant that the company can improve its offer, and as a result, make up for lost time and pay.

Stephen Cabot, a management labor relations attorney who has represented airlines in past disputes, said airlines like America West have not done an effective job conveying to employees that profits may appear greater than they are, after calculating for debts and past losses.

Further, airlines don't know when the gravy train will end, he said. "It's too little and too late when one tries to educate (employees) during negotiations. When emotions get to this peak, people don't hear. That leads to greater emotions until there is an outlet," Cabot said.

SRI LANKA: Disaster averted when bomb discovered

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka -- Police averted disaster in Sri Lanka's capital Wednesday when a powerful bomb was discovered and removed from a railroad track minutes before morning rush-hour trains were to pass, officials said.

The 5 1/2-pound bomb was found on a day when clashes between government forces and Tamil rebels elsewhere in the country left 10 dead.

The bomb was discovered on the main rail line at Keliniya, a Colombo suburb, by two travelers, said P. Samarasuriya, a railroad official.

"We immediately informed the police, who managed to remove the bombs before the first morning train was to pass,'' Samarasuriya said. Three trains, loaded with travelers bound for Colombo, were to pass through Keliniya.

In northern Sri Lanka, Tamil guerrillas detonated a mine, blowing up a tractor pulling a wagon filled with policemen and village militiamen returning to their garrison after a night patrol near Vavuniya, 150 miles north of Colombo, police said.

Two policemen and four militiamen died instantly.

Farther north near the town of Kilinochchi, government soldiers attacked rebel positions, killing four, said Major Kumara Dewage, a military spokesman in Colombo.

The troops used rocket-propelled grenades to destroy seven rebel bunkers, Dewage said. Kilinochchi is about 170 miles north of Colombo. Dewage said troops on the ground confirmed four rebels killed, but they expect the casualties to be higher. At least four soldiers were injured.

The attacks came a day after a suspected Tamil rebel exploded a bomb strapped to her body in front of a Colombo suburb police station, killing herself and two others. Another suspected rebel committed suicide after the bombing by swallowing a cyanide capsule to avoid capture, police said.

The rebels want a separate homeland for Sri Lanka's 3.3 million Tamils, accusing the 14 million Sinhalese majority of discrimination -- a charge the government denies. Over 57,000 people have died in the insurrection since 1983 in the country off India's southern coast.