
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: TUESDAY, August 24, 1993                   TAG: 9308240146
SECTION: BUSINESS                    PAGE: B6   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Journal of Commerce
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

RAIL WORKERS PRAISED

It took the worst flooding in a century, but rail executives now are singing the praises of their employees who kept the trains rolling. Whether all that singing translates into something workers can fold in their pockets remains to be seen.

"We're not going to thank labor by giving big wage increases, but we'll sit down and talk on something they think is important, like the way we handle discipline," said a labor-relations executive who asked that his name not be used.

"We've been building a relationship of trust [with the unions] on our railroad for some time, and it certainly helped to be able to pick up the phone and talk to union leaders during the flood," he said.

While the labor-management relations climate improved, economic realities could undermine any real progress.

"There's still a lot of excess capacity out there, and until we deal with that, there won't be a lot more improvement in labor-management relations," said one senior executive who asked that his name not be used.

Another, who also asked that he not be quoted by name, said his company will display its appreciation by making some sort of reciprocal gesture to labor.

"To me, everyone involved is a hero," Dick Davidson, Union Pacific chairman and chief executive, wrote in the July/August issue of the railroad employee magazine.

"There is a remarkable story that the railroads have to tell about this flooding in terms of the cooperation that the industry has shown - and not just the [executives] . . ." David R. Goode, chairman, president and chief executive of Norfolk Southern Corp., told a securities analyst meeting in late July.

"It just kind of gave you goose bumps to see what the people did," said Russ Hagberg, vice president of transportation for Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway, recalling maintenance workers chest deep in water trying to raise track to keep the mainline open.

Rail workers, from train crews and maintenance gangs to dispatchers, worked long hours under difficult conditions. Each of the affected carriers had situations in which union officials agreed to changes in work rules in order to keep trains running.

"There was a lot of winking and nodding going on [about work rules]," said a union official who asked that his name not be used.

"There's incredible amounts of loyalty from [the employees at] the bottom to the institutions and the customers," he said. "There hasn't been a whole lot of loyalty from the top toward the bottom."

"We have to show the workers that we're genuinely concerned about their jobs," said Dennis McDougal, assistant vice president of transportation for Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway. "The ball is in our court."

Robert Schmiege, chairman, president and chief executive of Chicago and North Western Transportation Co., had high praise for workers on his railroad.

"We don't have field supervision anymore because of our downsizing," he said. "Our workers are on their own out there. They know what to do, and they want to do it."

by CNB