by Tadman
Allow me to interject with something that I've brought up before.Although I was not aware it was in the CFR, I am pretty familiar with union shops and work rules having been in management and ownership of one. I mentioned something about a few extra dollars per hour in my original post. Perhaps I should have expanded on that more.
There is a reason that you see freight operators sliding out of passenger service contracts. I'm not sure if you realize it (even though I've brought it up before)but freight crews can just "operate" passenger trains unless it is an en route emergency. This has been in effect since
CFR Part 242 Conductor Certification was implemented in 2012.
I'll save you the trouble of digesting the entire regulation(even though it is worthy of reading and it may answer why some of your ideas and thoughts aren't allowed) and post the Cliff Notes.
Conductors (and engineers for that matter) must be federally certified and currently, there are two levels of service.
I don't, for even a second, think that such an idea would be feasible to just write a contract and start moving guys off coal trains into passenger trains. There is a genuinely different skill set for passenger that is layered on top of the basics of railroading. Dealing with passengers, HEP, train handling, etc... If there ever was genuine claim for extra pay for extra duties or beefing up work rules, this is it. That was why I mentioned extra dollars, and I should have been more clear that if such an idea were to be acted on, it requires a lot more than just writing a contract and changing the employer of record.
I guess I suggested the idea because I've had good luck in the past cross-training personnel and giving folks a bump in their pay. It's kept the company competitive or allowed us to enter new areas of business, while the guys take home more money most of the time. We were lucky to have a really good relationship with our unions but there was a lot of communication and give-take to get there, and it wasn't always that way.
The new Acela: It's not Aveliable.