Reported by Progressive Railroading.
The California High-Speed Rail Authority and 13 rail labor unions last week announced they’ve entered into an agreement in which the authority will use rail workers covered by federal rail labor laws in critical jobs once the high-speed trains begin to operate.
The memorandum of understanding (MOU) ensures that “highly skilled rail workers will perform traditional railroad work such as operating trains, engineering work, maintenance of equipment, dispatching, on-board service and clerical work, according to a press release issued by the Transportation Trades Department, AFL-CIO.
The agreement will cover 3,000 workers who will operate and maintain high-speed trains, facilities and stations from the San Francisco Bay Area through the Central Valley and into Southern California.
The unions involved in the MOU are: the Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employees Division; Brotherhood of Railroad Signalmen; International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers-Mechanical and Engineering Department; National Conference of Firemen and Oilers 32BJ/SEIU; Transportation Communications Union; International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers; Brotherhood of Railway Carmen; International Brotherhood of Boilermakers; Transport Workers Union of America; American Train Dispatchers Association; International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers-Transportation Department; Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen; and International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers.