ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Saturday, January 18, 1997 TAG: 9701200098
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A-4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: GREG EDWARDS STAFF WRITER
SOME WORRY THAT a merger would mean a greater chance of layoffs during an economic recession.
The news that Conrail shareholders had turned down a key piece of a CSX-Conrail merger agreement Friday received mixed reviews by rail labor unions representing Norfolk Southern Corp. workers in the Roanoke Valley.
Union officers - saying they were speaking for themselves and not their members - agreed that whether or not NS eventually wins or loses its fight for Conrail, NS workers will pay.
It's hard to say whether CSX's loss Friday was good or bad for workers, said Jack Medley, general chairman of the Brotherhood of Railway Carmen. "It's a $100,000 question," he said.
Medley, whose union represents some workers in Roanoke, said he was personally glad CSX didn't prevail. But he said he would like to see Conrail eventually divided between NS and CSX, something that other union leaders think ultimately will occur.
NS managers tell him that NS Chairman David Goode will take care of workers and the rail shops in the Roanoke Valley if NS merges with Conrail, because Goode grew up here, Medley said.
But he said people still worry that the Conrail shops in Altoona, Pa., might come out the winner in an NS-Conrail merger because of the need to appease House Transportation Chairman Bud Shuster, Altoona's representative in Congress.
A merger between NS and Conrail would probably mean a greater chance of layoffs during a general economic recession, Medley said, because NS - having spent the money for Conrail - would be less able to weather a downturn. Medley was furloughed for 13 months, he said, when a recession hit after the creation of NS in 1982 through the merger of the Norfolk and Western and Southern railways.
"Any time you have a merger, the employees come out on the short end of the stick," said Les Gilbert, secretary-treasurer of the Transportation Communications Union local, which represents NS clerical workers in Roanoke. On the other hand, if CSX wins the merger fight, NS could lose business, which also could hurt workers, he said.
"The membership is probably in a `Catch 22' situation no matter which way [Conrail] goes," he said.
Whether NS wins or loses, the railroad's workers don't know what's in store for them, because NS management has never discussed the possibilities with workers, said Troy Blakenship, vice chairman of the section of the United Transportation Union that represents trainmen.
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