Remote control on the bargaining table - Industry Outlook - Brief Article

Railway Age, Jan, 2002

The United Transportation Union and the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers are resuming their separate contract negotiations, having failed last month to achieve a merger long sought by UTU. (The merger was soundly defeated by BLE voters after being overwhelmingly approved by UTU). UTU International President Byron A.

Boyd, Jr., said on Dec. 18: "We're returning to the bargaining table in January where the issue of remote control will also be on the table.... We start the negotiations with a carriers' letter of intent assigning the work of remote control operations to employees represented by the UTU." In Canada, UTU and Canadian National reached a tentative three-year contract, and CN said it was finalizing an agreement with BLE. UTU said it was asked by BLE to join in dissolving the Canadian Council of Operating Unions as it existed in relation to CN. As for creating a single operating union, the object of the proposed merger, UTU said it would now seek winner-take-all representation elections on all of th e Class 1's, beginning with Kansas City Southern.