White House Panel Finds Railroad Firemen’s Jobs Are a Thing of the Past

A presidential mediation board said today that railroad firemen are no longer needed for the safe operation of diesel trains and recommended eliminating by attrition about 5,000 such jobs nationwide.

The White House announced the conclusions of the three-member panel, appointed by President Reagan Aug. 30, in the face of a threatened nationwide strike by 67,000 United Transportation Union workers.

“The board has concluded that the time is now, 26 years after the completion of the change from steam to diesel locomotives, to write the final chapter in what was described to be one of the longest, most studied and volatile labor disputes in the history of railroad collective bargaining,” the panel’s report said.

Shoveled Coal for Power

The fireman’s principal job was to shovel coal and tend the fire when trains were powered by steam engine.

The board found, as have others before it, “the fireman’s job to no longer be warranted or necessary for the safe and efficient operation of trains,” the White House statement said.

A union spokesman disputed the board’s findings, saying, “Our position is that the fireman craft should be continued because engineers come from the ranks of firemen, and there is a need for trained firemen at all times in relief and emergency situations.”

The panel’s recommendations are not binding, and the union and the rail industry have 30 more days to negotiate, based on its findings.

Right to Strike

Union President Fred Hardin said, “If we do not think an agreement is possible, we have a legal right to schedule a strike” after 30 days.

He said he had not seen the report yet and could not comment on whether a strike would be needed.

“There’s no doubt in the world that firemen had much more laborious duties to perform in the steam engine days, but it’s always been our position in the days of diesels and electric trains that you need firemen to make running repairs and keep a vigilant watch over his train and assist the engineer,” Hardin said.

The dispute involves mostly freight trains, Hardin said, although the industry sought to eliminate the fireman’s job on passenger trains as well. Some states, however, have laws or regulations requiring firemen on passenger trains.

Several train unions reached agreement with the industry June 22, but the firemen rejected it.