How understaffing is affecting the Precision Rail
IAM District 19 represents 11,000 active Machinists across the country, including every Class 1, commuter railroad, Amtrak and many others. The Transportation Communications Union (TCU/IAM) also represents tens of thousands of railroad members.
Our members primarily maintain and repair locomotives and track maintenance equipment, both in shop and on the line of road. They also perform complete overhauls of locomotives and assemblies and sub-assemblies used in all aspects of railroading.
A massive operational change is currently upending the railroad industry by threatening the jobs, health and safety of our members. It is also significantly impacting the massive freight network they help operate. That operational change is called “Precision Scheduled Railroading,” or PSR.
PSR is a process to minimize the amount of times a train would be required to stop between destinations. In order to accomplish this, the railroads are creating longer trains, and in some instances, adding an additional 3,000 to 5,000 feet to their existing train length.
“PSR, as currently being implemented, is not safe or effective, and Congress should exercise its oversight to investigate,” said Andrew Sandberg, IAM District 19 Assistant to the President/Directing General Chairman Rail, who represented the IAM with testimony to Congress. “We are concerned that current PSR schemes are detrimental to the long-term outlook of the rail industry, putting short-term gains ahead of long-term success, furloughing thousands while downgrading safety.”
The Machinists Union supports efforts to efficiently operate our nation’s railroads. We want our employers to be profitable, as profits leads to raises and quality benefits for our members.
However, PSR is designed to increase short-term profits for shareholders, at any cost. What was once scorned upon by industry professionals and executives is now being forced on the industry by Wall Street investors.
The IAM’s main concerns are with meeting strict deadlines at all costs and reducing headcounts to deliver short-term savings to shareholders.
After implementation of PSR, understaffing and lay-offs have become all too familiar, with Machinists Union members being asked by management to do other craft jobs almost daily.
Management at railroads such as Norfolk Southern, Union Pacific and CSX Transportation expect our members to complete their normal tasks in the same timeframe as before, even though management are now asking members to do the tasks of the Pipefitters, Boilermakers, Carmen and utility workers as well.
“This environment is very unsafe as it creates an atmosphere of ‘hurry up and rush’ just to get a number out the door,” said Sandberg.
The atmosphere on the railroad is increasingly one of hostility towards reporting any safety violations. For example, CSX Transportation’s accident rate has increased despite the fact that the rate of train accidents for all Class 1 railroads nationwide is decreasing. Since 2013, the national rate has decreased about 6%, while CSX’s rate has increased 59%.
Congress and the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) must apply greater scrutiny to these Precision Scheduled Railroading practices.
“Our members report being overworked, stressed, and scared,” said Derrick Battle, District 19 General Chairman. “They talk about drastic cuts to their shops while those remaining are being asked to perform double or triple the work compared to the pre-PSR era. Our members also cite increased safety violations, managers threatening job cuts if deadlines aren’t met and being forced to ignore basic safety procedures.”
A recent survey of members asked them to rate overall safety on a scale of 1-10, before and after PSR implementation. The results showed that before the PSR rail safety received an average score of 6.9 while after PSR implementation rail safety received an average score of 2.6.
“Congress and the Federal Railroad Administration must apply greater scrutiny to these Precision Scheduled Railroading practices,” added Sandberg. “It’s a business model loathed by workers, railroads, customers and communities. All the PSR does is enrich rent-seeking Wall Street investors, no matter the cost or disruption to the lives of our members, and the commercial transportation market they’ll destroy in the process.”
“The Transportation Department is committed to stand hand in hand and side by side with our members to fight any challenge that may arise in the airline and railroad industries,” said IAM Transportation Coordinator Edison Fraser.
