Last month, a delegation of BLET representatives visited 150 Congressional offices in Washington, D.C., to discuss KCS’ use of Mexican-based train crews to bring trains from the international border to the yard a Laredo, nine miles north. Crew changes used to happen at the border, which the railroad says resulted in delays and blocked crossings. BLET members threatened to go on strike earlier this year over what it called a “major dispute under the Railway Labor Act” but a federal judge put a stop to that last month.
BLET National President Dennis R. Pierce has even gone as far as asking President Donald Trump to step in and stop the railroad from using Mexican crews in order to “protect American jobs.”
So far Trump has not responded to the request.
“Members of Congress expressed grave concern that the Federal Railroad Administration would allow the railroad to apply a lower safety standard to Mexican train crews than to U.S. train crews,” Pierce says. “Our members are held to the highest standard while crews coming in from Mexico are essentially given a break in terms of certification, testing, and operating experience.”
Union officials are also worried that the new arrangement could result in job losses. But KCS officials say that is not the case. In a fact sheet provided to Trains News Wire by KCS, it notes that the railroad employs 83 people in Laredo and that number is expected to increase in the coming months. KCS officials also dispute the claim that safety will decline because of the new arrangement, noting that all crews from Mexico will comply with Federal Railroad Administration rules and regulations.
“All International crews used in this process are in compliance with all FRA regulations,” the fact sheet states. “FRA has extensively reviewed training and testing materials, conducted in-person
interviews, reviewed skill rides, validated collection of all background documents and medical exams.”
Mexican crews will also be subject to all travel and work rules of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection of the Department of Homeland Security while operating in the U.S.
Union officials say however that they will continue to object to KCS’ new practice.
“We will not give up in our fight to protect good American jobs, and for the safety of those Americans living in communities where these trains operate,” Pierce says.
Mr. Landey:
Yes the UAW has tried to get into SIA. I worked there in maintenance for over 25 years and there was a lot of discussion of union pros and cons. In the maintenance departments, the opinion of many was that a union could have some benefits but we did not want the UAW, especially after finding out how our people were treated when they went to UAW plants. We wanted a union of “transplant” workers who had more in common with us. However my uncle was a proud union employee of the Monon and it’s successors, including Amtrak and felt there were definite benefits for the workers there.
Mr. Simms-perhaps those who seem quick to put negative labels on the unions should try to gain some understanding of what they are talking about rather than name calling. There is nothing to be gained by that sort of talk, there is a loss of good will on this forum.
I ask again – How many miles are KCS crews paid from Laredo to the next crew change point? Does the extra 9 miles add to the minimum? When I left the railroad, 130 miles was equal to 8 hrs. Any less was gravy to the train crews. As of now, I don’t know the answer to the above questions. It is possible the KCS crews are paid the same in either case.
Steven & Chris. The both of you are union sheeple toadies.
This job should have a certain group of rail workers (KCS and KCS of Mexico) who would be responsible for moving the trains across the border. The workers from both sides must meet strict rules by the FRA and homeland security ,also union requirements. If a US crew brings a train into Mexico they should be able to return with a train to the US or Mexico crew bring train to Us and returning with train to Mexico. This would provide a safe and better movement of trains across the border.
Charles, in the Union I’m a proud member of, the IBEW, you damn well do join and your sworn in. This shows your stupidity when it comes to Unions. Stop showing your ignorance of unions.
I guess the voters in Missouri yesterday didn’t buy the old worn out line of yours Charles.
“Union” and “worker” are not synonymous. More and more, they are becoming opposites. The more that skilled and proud American workers flee from the unions, the stupider the unions become.
Of course the American crews could run to the Mexican yards just as easily. Why was that not the choice……I will guess money.
The previous practice of changing crews in the middle of the bridge was ridiculous. An airplane continues to it’s destination airport and American crews should continue to Montreal or Vancouver. Having Mexican crews run 9 miles to the first major yard is entirely reasonable.
I side with the American union.
Thought NAFTA rules prevent US citizens from surface Mexican work. Know US truck drivers in the past did not go to Mexico but Mexican drivers in US ? ? ?i
Actually in a sense I can show you a lot of unions without members, in a sense: almost any union. Here’s what I’m getting at: almost no current union member was on the payroll at the time the union was voted in, and in some cases the union was voted in before World War II (GM, Ford, Chrysler). So the current membership, some of them pro-union and some anti-union – aren’t members in the sense that they joined, but were dragooned in. BTW I’ve been to the plant in Indiana (SIA Lafayette) where my current car was built. 100% non-union and check this out: the union hasn’t even tried to get in. The union hasn’t even begun a shadow of an organization drive. They know a substantial majority of the plant’s workers would tell them to go back to their corrupt HQ on East Jefferson in Detroit. PS At one time in its history the UAW was a great organization. I was a huge fan of Walter P. Reuther who died in a tragic accident in 1970. Reuther was a great guy and in those days the UAW was a great organization. Not any more. A great freeway (Michigan Trunk Line Highway I-696) was named after Walter P. Reuther and I once had a car “Walter” I named after him. Now the UAW is just a corrupt mess.
And you had better re read what I said Charles in addition to your own post. Nowhere did I say that the workers become dumb because they are in a union. And, I asked you once before and I will ask again. Show me a Union without its members (the workers). You can’t, because without its members ( the workers), the Union doesn’t exist. But, you are so anti Union anyway I’m just wasting my breath trying to explain it to you.
Paul: Huge wage premiums? Really? I get paid the same whether I work in the middle of the night or at 8am. Or are you implying that we should take a pay cut in exchange for the company giving us a more predictable work schedule?
As for the KCS deal, have any of you seen the agreement between the Union and the carrier regarding crew changes at the border prior to this latest move? This will probably upset the anti union folks in here, but like it or not an agreement between the two parties is just that. Did KCS try to pull a fast one without negotiating with the Union in good faith? I have no idea, and I would guess you guys don’t know either. But yet in your eyes, the company is always right, railroad management NEVER tries anything shady in order to benefit themselves, and the union is always the bad guy.
As for the figures that KCS sent to Trains, maybe the numbers are correct. But then again, do you think the PR dept of any railroad would send something to a publication that wouldn’t make them look 100 percent perfect? Anything can be pencil whipped to make numbers and facts look good.
The unions should fight against issues that cause fatigue (and therefore quite real safety issues) from lack of regular sleep. As well as a very poor quality of life for train crews. A much better quality of life could lead to reductions in the huge wage premium that exists now essentially because the quality of life is so poor. But could lead to increased membership.
And management should meet those demands in return for relief on stupid work rule restrictions and issues like this one which only add cost and poorer service and therefore shrink rail market share. Which leads to lower membership much more directly than allowing Mexican crews to run 8 miles into the US eliminating delay and increasing needed capacity at $0 capex.
The elephant in the room is: How safe would an American crew be getting off 9 miles inside the Mexican border, vs. Mexican crews inside the US border? Damned if I’d want to go inside that drug-infested kill zone.
Steven – You’d best re-read my post. Nowhere did I say that smart workers become dumb because they’re in a union. The workers and the union, I posted, aren’t the same thing. The workers are skilled, dedicated and professional. The union isn’t the workers. Mark I’m extremely disappointed in the Missouri vote. Fortunately I live in a right-to-work state which is Wisconsin.
Well Charles there you go again. So I guess those railroad workers that you “silently thank” every time a train passes, as you said in a previous rebuttal are now, according to you, not skilled nor proud American workers because they still are part of a union? And please don’t use the weak argument like you did last time where you tried to tell me that the workers are NOT the Union. So once again, you just insulted the very crews you claim to silently thank every time a train passes.