Striking railroad Teamsters ordered back to work, no single operators allowed

An Akron, Ohio, district court judge this afternoon ordered striking locomotive engineers and trainmen at the Wheeling and Lake Erie Railway back to work. He also ordered the railroad to refrain from allowing supervisors or management to operate trains.<br /><br />The order by Judge John R. Adams ended the strike by the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen that began this morning. The walkout stopped virtually all activity by the railroad, which generally runs 45-50 trains a day.<br /><br />BLET President Dennis Pierce said,<br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">I hope that the condition imposed by the judge will lead W and LE to recognize the importance of this issue to our members, who now will be returning to work with the assurance that while the matter is under consideration by the court, no further provocative actions may be taken by the carrier.</blockquote>According to a <a href="http://www.ble-t.org/pr/news/newsflash.asp?id=5489" rel="nofollow">BLET statement</a>, the workers walked out because the W and LE repudiated its contracts between locomotive engineers and trainmen. The railroad used supervisors to do the work of the engineers and trainmen, and running one-person operations.<br /><br />A <a href="http://www.ble-t.org/pr/pdf/Temporary-Restraining-Order-9-20-13.pdf" rel="nofollow">temporary restraining order</a> will remain in effect until a hearing can be held on the railroad’s request for a longer-term injunction.<br /><br />Pierce also thanked General Chairman Bob Linsey, Local Chairmen Kevin Nahrebecki and Lonnie Swigert, and all officers and members of Division 292, as well as general counsel Mike Wolly and his team for their outstanding efforts.<br /><br />The BLET is part of the rail conference of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters.<br /><br />

BLET rail strike Striking railroad Teamsters ordered back to work, no single operators allowed

An Akron, Ohio, district court judge this afternoon ordered striking locomotive engineers and trainmen at the Wheeling and Lake Erie Railway...

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Railroad Teamsters strike Wheeling & Lake Erie Railway today

More than 100 members of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET) today struck the Wheeling and Lake Erie Railway (WLE). The railroad is trying to run trains with one operator even after the recent Lac-Megantic tragedy that killed 47 people.<br /><br />Picket lines were posted at seven primary WLE terminals in Ohio and Pennsylvania, shutting down the railroad’s entire operation.<br /><br />General Chairman Bob Linsey said they were forced to strike to defend their contracts. The railroad,<br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">...has used management officials to perform the work of bargaining unit employees, namely locomotive engineers and conductors. In defiance of the union’s warnings, the carrier has also recently ignored longstanding crew consist agreements and operated single-person operations in an effort to eliminate trainmen.</blockquote>The WLE outright admitted that it has no right to run the railroad that way. It made proposals at the bargaining table to lift the restrictions on single-person operations and letting management do the work of conductors and locomotive engineers.<br /><br />BLET national President Dennis R. Pierce blasted WLE for its actions, saying the WLE loaned money to the Montreal, Maine and Atlantic, which declared bankruptcy after <a href="http://bangordailynews.com/2013/08/22/business/trustee-named-to-oversee-montreal-maine-and-atlantic-railway-during-bankruptcy/?ref=latest" rel="nofollow">one of its trains rolled driverless down a hill and derailed in Lac Megantic, Quebec</a>. The explosion killed 47 people. Pierce said,<br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">The WLE bankrolled Ed Burkhardt’s failed one-person operation on the Montreal, Maine and Atlantic to the tune of a $25 million loan, so this doesn’t come as much of a surprise. When General Chairman Linsey asked for strike authorization on behalf of our members, the stakes involved made this a fairly easy decision for me to make. It is clear that WLE’s actions are in outright defiance of its obligations, a major dispute in and of itself. BLET will not idly stand by and allow this totally unsafe abrogation of its collectively bargained agreements.</blockquote>Pierce said Republican and Democratic members of Congress sponsored a bill — H.R. 3040, the Safe Freight Act — requiring at least two crew members on all freight trains in the nation. He called on the House leadership to move forward with the legislation.

BLET railroad strike Railroad Teamsters strike Wheeling & Lake Erie Railway today

More than 100 members of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET) today struck the Wheeling and Lake Erie Railway (WLE). ...

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