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Vol. 82/No.14 April 9, 2018
Rail bosses use drones to spy on, victimize workers
BY SETH GALINSKY
Feigning concern for safety, Union Pacific bosses began using drones to
spy on workers at 14 of its rail yards in December. A new crew of drone
operators has been hired to look for “behaviors that deviate from the
railroad’s rule books,” like workers “passing between railcars that are
less than 100 feet apart” or “climbing off moving equipment,” the Wall
Street Journal reported March 14.
But rail workers know that “safety” rules are designed to blame and
victimize workers for train wrecks, on-the-job injuries and deaths.
Those who work on the rails have often had supervisors tell them to
“work safely” with a wink of the eye, and then tell them to get the work
done fast. Some workers have already been written up on charges from
drone surveillance.
Over the last several decades, rail bosses — in their drive for profits
— have slashed crew sizes to the point where most freight trains run
with a crew of just two, down from the four or five that was standard
into the 1980s. Railroad owners are pushing to cut that to a one-person
“crew,” but have met resistance by workers.
One-person operation has been a key factor in more than one recent train
disaster, from the runaway train that derailed and exploded in
Lac-Mégantic, Quebec, killing 47 people in 2013, to the Amtrak train
that derailed and killed eight people near Philadelphia in 2015.
Rail bosses are not the only ones making fewer workers produce more, in
less time. Corporate associations in both chicken and hog slaughter have
asked the U.S. Department of Agriculture to allow them to jack up line
speeds. A cooperative USDA has allowed 20 companies to speed up their
lines to 175 birds a minute.
While squeezing more out per worker, the rail bosses have been skimping
on rail and train maintenance, increasing the dangers. They keep
increasing train lengths and run times. Some trains are now more than
two miles long and fatigue is a growing challenge for workers.
Union Pacific says it suspended drone operations temporarily March 1, to
try to get agreement from rail union officials. Meanwhile, it already
has 126 operatives certified to fly the drones, using them to inspect
bridges and flood damage as well as spying on yard crews. UP says it
plans to double that number by the end of the year.
Officials of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen, and
SMART — the two main unions of operating craft rail workers — have
challenged drone surveillance. BLET National President Dennis Pierce
told Trains News Wire the spying “will reduce safety because the drones
will distract crews.”
SMART General Chairperson Steve Simpson agreed, saying they would be a
serious hazard.
An engineer in Boone, Iowa, who asked to remain anonymous, told the
Militant he found out about the drones from co-workers. “Nobody I talked
to approves,” he said. “They say if they see one they’ll stop working.
They told me, ‘I don’t feel safe if I see a drone up there. How do I
know who’s controlling it?’”
Related articles:
Teachers’ protests call for support from all workers
Seek to build movement for pay, benefits, dignity
Higher taxes or attacks on teachers? A fake trade off
On the Picket Line
Bosses’ profit drive caused fatal Triangle fire, kills workers today
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