11-05-2004, 03:14 AM
Occhidiangela,Nov 4 2004, 09:55 PM Wrote:...That was my experience as well. I worked for a stint in my career at one of the regional US railroads. There were at least a dozen unions involved, and most had worked in rules that had become antiquated that the unions refused to reconsider. The most outrageous were for the train men and engineers. Payroll was a nightmare as there would over 160 ways that the T&E might get paid, including going up a hill, having to back up the train, having to get off the train to throw a switch, or arriving at the station late. What was killing the railroad were rules dating back to the late 1800's where a train was required to run a six man crew, and drive no more that 100 miles in a day. The six man crew included a fireman to stoke the boiler with coal, two brake men to watch the left and right sides of the train in case they needed to stop, two engineers, and a conductor. Modern trains can be run by one or two people.
The reason that Unions lost power is that they, under pressure from foreign competition, slowly started to kill the goose that laid the golden egg within my life time. Not everyone feels that has been a good thing.
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That railroad is now owned by the Canadian Pacific.