BLET files opposition to Rocky Mountaineer petition to STB
The Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen has informed the Surface Transportation Board it is opposing some aspects of the effort by Rocky Mountaineer to launch luxury train service between Denver and Moab, Utah. In a filing, the union said it opposes American Rocky Mountaineer’s request for an exemption “from virtually the entirety of the Interstate Commerce Act as amended by the ICC Termination Act.” While agreeing some exemptions are appropriate, the union argues that sections dealing with safety, efficiency, and fair wages and safe and suitable working conditions remain relevant, and the company should not be exempted from them. “The board has a duty to ensure that ARM’s operations are safe, that ARM does not negatively impact safe and efficient operations of [Union Pacific, which will host the trains], and that ARM’s operations are not detrimental to public health and safety,” the filing states. “… ARM should only be exempted from specific provisions that truly do not apply to its operations, and where ARM is truly different from other carriers.”
Maintenance of way union sues CSX over payroll errors
A union representing maintenance-of-way workers is suing CSX Transportation, saying the railroad has for several months failed to correct payroll errors resulting from a new payment system. The Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employes Division Allide Federation is suing in federal court in Kentucky, saying the company’s unilateral implementation of the TimeTrax program violates its requirement to reach agreement with the union before making changes in rates, terms, and working conditions; that payroll errors are widespread; and that some workers have seen their paychecks shorted by thousands of dollars. The union says the suit, filed earlier this year, was placed on hold while the two sides attempted to reach an out-of-court agreement, but settlement discussions have failed. “We have asked that all the problems be resolved,” BMWED Allied Federal General Chairman Dennis Albers said in a press release, “but management still does not appear to recognize that TimeTrax is a serious problem, let alone one that should have been fixed already.”
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