Right on , Bob!! I've wanted to respond to Mark Cosson's venomous post for a couple of days, but held myself back, as I was too pissed off. Thanks for helping me out.
I'm a senior conductor on White Pass and Yukon Route; I hired out in 1972, back in the freight days. I worked in yard and road service when we had through freights to Whitehorse year-around, and bucked the extra board for years. Then in 1982 the railroad closed for 6 years--I had to leave town and my family to find work out of state. Finally I returned to service in 1994.
I was the general chairman of UTU Local 1626, White Pass & Yukon Route division, when we negotiated our last contract. We negotiated for literally hundreds of hours to rewrite every rule in the interim agreement which dated back to 1982 to reflect today's operation. I negotiated with my vice-chairman, Don Barry, then-Superintendent of Rail Operations John Bush, and President Fred McCorriston. We had a very civil negotiation--we all wanted to find ways to end the old labor-vs.-management mentality, eliminate the archaic work rules, and find ways we could work together as a team. In the end we came up with a very progressive contract. We are now paid an hourly wage with a yearly productivity incentive, based on the number of passengers over a certain base number. We do share in the risk--rather than just take a fixed hourly wage increase in the latter two years of the contract we agreed to the bonus. If a cruise ship or two reduce their sailings to Skagway due to weather, mechanical problems, or the economy, we lose, too. This productivity bonus was designed to encourage a higher customer service level from our personnel, and it's really working. This year we had about 319,000 revenue passengers ride the train! You do the math--our summit excursion ticket costs $82.00. . .
Our crews work hard to earn their money, though it may not look like it because we're smiling! We really like our jobs! Transport Canada and FRA officials who come here to inspect us annually all say we have a very high grade of professionalism here, which they wish they would see on the Class 1 railroads. Our engineers routinely handle what are basically freight cars up and down 4% grades with lots of curves, giving smooth rides. Our trainmen keep the passengers happy, and handle customer service problems routinely. We're well trained, and pride ourselves on our professionalism.
This Spring I had a woman fall down on my train. I had to give her some basic first aid, but she was failing to respond, and getting worse. I called for a medivac by helicopter, and then got EMT help from some passengers on board the train to stabilize her until the chopper arrived at Glacier. Thank God she made it, but she was months in the hospital. Then for several weeks I had problems with the sound system, and had to go car to car narrating and pointing out the sights until I was hoarse every day. All a part of the job. We train new brakemen, watch for problems with the train, deal with broken equipment. I've had to repair flooding toilets, toilets that wouldn't flush and were full of you-know-what. Taken care of a lad with a cinder from the #40 in his eye, helped passenger agents deal with problem passengers. It's routine, and you don't see it because it's seamless. But let me tell you, at the end of the shift, you're drained.
No, this isn't "Let's Play Trains"--it's very real. It was all brought home to me a year ago when my friend and vice-chairman, Don Barry, was killed in a switching accident. Don's death was an extremely difficult emotional time for all of us. He loved this railroad, and this career, and was damned good at it. No, he wasn't a "Money-grubber." He tried his best to be sure that everyone was treated equally and fairly under the contract, and wasn't out for his own good at the expense of others.
Our union members only work for the railroad several months a year. I, for example, am able to work May through October, a mere 6 months of the year, and I'm one of the senior trainmen. Our junior personnel only work June through August. Unlike other railroads, we don't have the opportunity to do maintenance of way or work in the shops in the off-season--our whole railroad shuts down, turns off the power, and doesn't do anything until March, other than in the office. Many of us own homes here in Skagway and live here year-around, putting kids through school and supporting the local economy.
This narrow gauge forum is an interesting read to me, as it gives me views from a different perspective from my own. I'm a people-oriented railfan. I like to get to know about the crews who work the trains, hear their stories. But here I enjoy reading about the history of the equipment, about the nuts and bolts, the paint schemes, and things that modellers relate to. Many of you know more about this history of my own railroad rolling stock than I do. Many of you railfans have opportunities to volunteer to work on other historic properties, and I enjoy hearing how that work compares to our own.
But don't call me a "Money-grubber" just because I happen to make this my career and because I belong to a rail union. Don't blame John Bush's resignation on me or my union--he resigned for private reasons. John Bush is a personal friend, we respect each other, and like each other personally. Anything you may attribute to the reason for his resignation is from your own fevered imagination.
Shame on you, Mark Cosson, for your venomous anti-union attitude.
John McDermott
