More Friday rail news in brief:
Union Pacific lays off workers at North Platte, Neb.
Union Pacific has laid off an undisclosed number of mechanical-department workers based at its massive Bailey Yard in North Platte, Neb. The North Platte Telegraph quotes UP spokeswoman Raquel Espinoza as saying that with the decline in volume because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the railroad is “operating fewer locomotives and rail cars, requiring us to reduce our workforce in the mechanical department.” She declined to provide the number of employees involved, citing company policy.
Charlotte’s CATS ends free rides, will increase service
North Carolina’s Charlotte Area Transit System will resume fare collection and increase light rail service to operate on a modified Saturday schedule as of Monday, June 8. Trains will follow the new schedule, featuring service on 15-minute headways between 6 a.m. and 7 p.m. and regular Saturday frequencies thereafter, six days a week. Sunday operation will follow the normal Sunday schedule.
Probably because there’s no one like Uncle Dan Willard around to make it happen. Without such leadership, the companies have no motivation to keep “excess workers” employed.
Robert Ray, the companies don’t want to hear it. We had a surplus of newly trained train people just a few years back that became surplus during the 2008 downturn. Union TRIED to get CSX to add a third person to the crews so they could get experience, stay working. Nope, nothing doing. Instead they spent tens of thousands training new people and let them hit the street and 90%+ never came back when the economy recovered. Nevermind.
Most likely because the agreement folks with enough seniority to avoid layoffs, don’t want to devalue the seniority they do have.
I wonder why the unions and railroads don’t negotiate a short time agreement where everybody is kept on the payroll but they don’t work a full week so nobody gets laid off.