UTU News Digest - Wednesday, January 12, 2000

UTU Daily News Digest

Information of interest to operating railroad and transportation employees

Wednesday, January 12, 2000

WASHINGTON, D.C.: NMB names members of special panel

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The National Mediation Board (NMB) has named the members the special three-person panel that will determine if a representation election will be held on the Union Pacific Railroad (UP).

Arnold M. Zack, Richard I. Bloch and Richard R. Kasher will decide the issue of whether "Train and Engine Service Employees" is the proper craft on Union Pacific and whether the UTU’s request for a representation election on the property should be granted. Zack will chair the panel.

On January 12, 1998, the UTU filed an application with the NMB asking that the crafts of locomotive engineer, conductor, trainman, brakeman, switchman, hostler, fireman, and hostler-helper be regarded as a single craft. UTU also asked that the board sanction a representation election to see which union would represent the proposed new craft.

"The line between the craft or class of engineers on the one hand, and conductors and trainmen on the other, has been blurred to the point of practical extinction," the UTU application stated. "Consequently, the Board should now find that a single operating craft or class of 'Train and Engine Service Employees' now exists, industry-wide."

WASHINGTON, D.C.: NTSB backs effort to reduce farm/grade-crossing accidents

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has joined with Operation Lifesaver, Inc., the National Safety Council and other safety and industry organizations in launching a new public education initiative aimed at preventing collisions, deaths and injuries at farm-railroad grade crossings throughout North America.

Representing the NTSB, Board Member George W. Black, along with Operation Lifesaver President Gerri L. Hall, Pennsylvania Transportation Secretary Bradley L. Mallory and Agriculture Secretary Sam Hayes, Jr., unveiled the new educational effort at the Pennsylvania Farm Show in Harrisburg, Pa., on January 8.

Mr. Black noted that collisions between farm vehicles and trains at unsignalized, private railroad crossings in rural areas have been increasing and too often result in deaths or serious injuries and extensive property and equipment damage. He said that aggressive action is needed to deal with the problem.

Mr. Black praised the work of Operation Lifesaver and expressed confidence that, with strong support from the farming and railroad communities, the incidence of these grade crossing accidents can be substantially reduced.

"Field to Field - Yield to Trains" is the primary message of the campaign, which will use brochures, decals and interactive exhibits to disseminate safety information in farming areas. Initially, the program will focus on six states -- Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Iowa, Nebraska, Idaho and Montana. Federal Railroad Administration data indicate that in these six states, in the past decade, there have been over 500 farm vehicle-train collisions and at least 44 fatalities and 138 injuries.

Operation Lifesaver will maintain an informational exhibit at the Pennsylvania Farm Show, which runs until January 13. Further information can be obtained from the Operation Lifesaver web site at www.oli.org.

Journal of Commerce: U.S. rail freight volume rises

U.S. rail traffic ended on a higher note than it began, with a 3.3% increase in carload volume in December, and a 1.2% increase for the fourth quarter of 1999, compared with comparable 1998 periods.

Intermodal volume showed a similar pattern, with an 8% gain in December and a 6% increase for the fourth quarter, according to data provided by the Association of American Railroads.

For all of 1999, carload traffic declined .4% and intermodal climbed 4.5%.

Coal was the only major commodity that declined in every reporting period of 1999, with a .6% drop in December, 2.5% decline in the fourth quarter, and a 3.2% decline for the year.

The decline reflected softness in export shipments and the difficulties experienced by Norfolk Southern Corp. and CSX Transportation following their June 1 division of Conrail operations. NS acquired 58% of Conrail and CSX took 42%.

Western railroads reported gains in coal volume, with Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway exceeding 2 million cars for the year, a 1.9% increase, and Union Pacific handling more than 1.6 million cars, a 7.6% increase, as UP continued to recover from its service crisis of 1997-98.

BNSF coal volume did decline 3% in the five-week period ended Jan. 1, while UP volume grew 9,741 cars, or 6.8%.

Forest products, motor vehicles and equipment, and chemicals had the largest gains in December, with increases of 8.6%, 7.8% and 5.4%, respectively.

All three commodity groups had gains in the fourth quarter, although forest products showed a slight decline for the full year.

In intermodal, trailers on flatcars, which reflects domestic traffic, continued its extended decline with a .3% drop in December, and a 1.4% decline in the fourth quarter and full year.

Container movements, which represent import and export trade and an increasing share of domestic freight, increased 12.3% in December, 9.9% in the fourth quarter, and 7.6% for the year.

The slowed rate of decline for trailer intermodal late in the year may reflect the severe shortage of containers that developed, causing some shippers to use trailers in place of unavailable containers.

NOTE: Author of the above story, Lawrence H Kaufman,
can be reached at LKauf81509@aol.com

CANADA: Laidlaw posts weaker first-quarter profit

TORONTO -- Laidlaw Inc., North America's largest school bus company, posted weaker first-quarter earnings on Tuesday, blaming costs associated with several operations that are to be sold off.

Burlington, Ontario-based Laidlaw recorded earnings of $52.9 million, or $0.16 a share, down from $85.3 million, or $0.26 a share, for the same period last year.

The 1999 quarter included earnings $9.7 million, or $0.03 a share, from health-care operations, which are being discontinued.

The average estimate of four analysts polled by First Call/Thomson Financial, was that the company would earn 22 cents a share for the quarter.

Revenues climbed to $767.8 million in the quarter, which ended November 30, from $510.8 million in the year-before quarter.

Laidlaw's 44 percent interest in Safety-Kleen Corp. contributed $10.8 million in income, compared with $9.9 million last year, when Laidlaw owned 36 percent.

Laidlaw said its school bus division had a revenue increase of 7% to $426.5 million from $397.4 million.

Revenue at the transit and tours unit climbed 201% to $341.3 million from $113.4 million, as the company incorporated results from Greyhound Lines, which it acquired in March of 1999.

Laidlaw said it would continue to make progress in improving its U.S. health-care operations, which, along with its 44% stake in Safety-Kleen Corp., it is attempting to sell off so it can focus on its more successful bus passenger operations.

Laidlaw stock closed off 45 Canadian cents at C$6.70 on Tuesday on the Toronto Stock Exchange.

WASHINGTON, D.C.: Overnite Teamsters to stage rallies

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Teamsters locals across the country tomorrow (Thursday, January 13) will be holding rallies for the striking Overnite Transportation workers.

The rallies will put the spotlight on Overnite, one of the nation's worst labor law violators. Overnite's workers are in the twelfth week of a strike against Overnite because of the company's massive unfair labor practices.

A list of the events taking place around the country can be accessed at http://www.teamster.org/.

ILLINOIS: Teamsters to create ethics board

ROSEMONT -- Teamsters president James P. Hoffa says the union, which has been under federal supervision for a decade, can police itself now.

Hoffa appeared Tuesday before representatives of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters' 1.4 million members and left with their unanimous approval to establish a code of conduct for union members.

The representatives also supported creation of an ethics board and a study of the union's efforts to sever ties with organized crime.

"We want to move ahead and do this study and verify the fact we are corruption free, we are free of influence of organized crime and we are ready to talk to the federal government," Hoffa said after the meeting.

Hoffa won the Teamsters' presidency on pledges to root out corruption and work to end the federal oversight, which the union agreed to in 1989 to avoid racketeering charges brought by the Justice Department.

The union has spent $83 million to support the federal monitoring, Hoffa said.

He added that more than 100 officers and members have been kicked out for associating with alleged organized crime figures.

A Justice Department spokesman said government officials have met with Teamsters, but gave no indication the department is willing to drop its oversight.

Hoffa said a task force of some 20 Teamsters will oversee the code of conduct. A first draft is expected by April 15, and the final draft is expected to be approved by Aug. 15, said union spokesman Chip Roth. Hoffa said implementing the entire plan would be completed in a year.

Roth said the union has informed several federal agencies about its plan. He said the union will ask federal agencies for input on the code of ethics.

Heading the anti-corruption effort is Edwin H. Stier, a former federal prosecutor hired by Hoffa last year. Stier said he doesn't believe organized crime controls the union.

Neither Hoffa or Stier gave specific provisions to be included in the code of conduct.

In June, Hoffa wrote a letter to Deputy Attorney General Eric Holder, saying he believes the union can demonstrate that it doesn't need the federal government looking over its shoulder.

WASHINGTON: Boeing engineers call Thursday strike deadline

SEATTLE -- Claiming Boeing is seeking unacceptable medical benefits givebacks and offering substandard wages, the Society of Professional Engineering Employees in Aerospace has threatened to shut down production at key Boeing facilities for the first time.

''A strike is a real possibility,'' said Charles Bofferding, executive director of SPEEA, Boeing's second-largest union. ''We are very confident SPEEA could shut down production'' at Boeing Puget Sound commercial airplane factories and operations from Florida to California.

Boeing Thursday will present a revised version of the contract it proposed in December, which was rejected by 98% of SPEEA's 13,000 voting members.

The union claims it represents a total of 22,600 engineers and technical workers in eight states.

Bofferding said that if the new offer is too similar to the most recent proposal, it will immediately call a strike.

Boeing's labor spokesman Peter Conte said the company hopes that union leaders allow members to vote on the next proposal before making a strike decision. He declined to comment on the likelihood of a strike.

Neither Conte nor Bofferding would discuss specifics of the most recent proposals, but Bofferding said the two sides were relatively close on benefits issues, but not on pay issues.

After heated talks with the 44,000-member International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers last August, Boeing gave that union most of what it wanted, including an 11% pay raise over three years and 10% bonuses.

Boeing has been steadily paring its workforce in recent years. Its total payroll stood at 198,600 at the end of 1999 and is expected to fall to about 180,000 this year from a peak of 238,600 in 1998.

WISCONSIN: Passenger rail task force issues interim report

MADISON -- The interim report issued to Gov. Tommy Thompson in late December by the Governor's Blue Ribbon Task Force on Passenger Rail Service is being made available on a website hosted by the state’s Department of Transportation.

Issued on December 27, 1999, the report details the task force's structure, activities, findings, and recommendations related to intercity passenger rail service in Wisconsin.

Copies of the report are available can be downloaded from the department’s website at http://www.dot.state.wi.us/opa/rail.html, or by writing to the Wisconsin Department of Transportation Office of Policy & Budget, P.O. Box 7910, Madison, WI 53707-7910. Copies may also be obtained by calling (608) 261-8616, or by sending e-mail to www.opb.execdot.state.wi.us.

ENGLAND: No ticket to ride for leader's wife

LONDON -- Cherie Blair, wife of the British prime minister and a high-flying lawyer, was fined for traveling on a train without a rail ticket.

She was traveling from London to Luton to preside over a court case a day after returning from a short break with her husband in Portugal.

Finding no ticket counter open and short of cash to use a machine, she jumped on a train on which no conductor could be found, Blair's official spokesman said.

"(In Luton) she volunteered the information that she didn't have a ticket," he said, and was promptly fined 10 pounds ($16.40) on top of the price of a full return fare.

The spokesman would not comment on suggestions that the lack of staff reflected badly on Britain's rail service, much criticized in recent months.

Cherie Blair, who practices law under her maiden name Booth, announced recently she was pregnant with her fourth child at the age of 45. She was made a junior part-time judge in June.