No agreement between VRE, operating unions

(The following story by Uriah A. Kiser appeared on the News & Messenger website on May 12, 2010.)

MANASSAS, Va. Despite reports they had, unions representing Virginia Railway Express train workers have not reached an agreement with the company taking over operations June 28.

Without the agreements, questions have come up about who Keolis Rail Services of America the company that will take reigns from Amtrak will hire to operate the trains.

VRE said last month agreements had been reached with the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen, and the United Transportation Union, representing VREs conductors, which covered such things as working conditions, hours and wages.

Thats not true, said UTU spokesman Frank Wilner.

I think that it was an incorrect statement made by someone who has not been sitting at the negotiation table, said Wilner. We are always optimistic that an agreement will be reached and that we will be able to move forward.

VRE announced the agreements prior to a nationwide recruitment effort Keolis mounted in late April. VRE confirmed one Amtrak employee has agreed to work for Keolis.

Keolis did not return requests for comment on this story.

After hiring their train maintenance staff almost immediately after they signed an $85.7 million, five-year contract with VRE last fall, Keolis still needs 45 employees to operate the trains, said VRE spokesman Mark Roeber.

Workers have expressed concern that without the union agreements, VRE could be trying to shed its unions.

Weve seen this kind of thing before, where a company that owns several thousand miles of track decides to sell a small portion of the track to a new company and operate without a union, said John Bentley, a spokesman for the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen.

While he said there is no specific evidence that is happening here, employees at a non-union Keolis take the chance of not having similar wages and benefits they have earned, and wouldnt have the flexibility of working on other unionized rail operations, Bentley added.

VRE says Keolis presented their plans for working conditions, benefits, hours and wages to both current unions, both approved of Keolis plan and wanted to join in.

The unions know that no one can have signed agreements without 50 percent, plus [one employee] of the Amtrak employees agreeing to work for Keolis, and so far that hasnt happened, said Roeber.

Once Keolis completes its hiring process, it will then be up to the individual unions to sell themselves to the employees.

Who ends up working for Keolis may already be on the list.

On Friday, VRE submitted a list of more than 60 potential hires to Amtrak, in hopes they would certify which ones do not have a problematic past with Amtrak, and who would still be allowed to work on Amtrak property such as Union Station, said Roeber.

Amtrak responded Monday, demanding Keolis provide forms each with the potential employees signature on them, allowing Amtrak to release their personal information.

We are very protective of our employees privacy rights, said Amtrak spokesman Steve Kulm. And, if the employees want to move overVRE is reporting they only have one employee to move over. I think that says something.

VRE with their new contract expects to save $1.2 million with Keolis, which has never operated rail services in the U.S. It has an option for two five-year renewals.

It marks the first time that Amtrak has not been contracted to operate VRE since the commuter service began in 1992.

Thursday, May 13, 2010
bentley@ble.org

Amtrak: French company not ready for VRE transition

By Uriah A. Kiser
Published: May 20, 2010

Prince William County, Va.- The French company slated to operate Virginia Railway Express trains will not be ready to take over as scheduled, despite assurances they would be.

Engineers and conductors working for Keolis Rail Services of America were scheduled to take the reigns from Amtrak June 28, after VRE awarded the company a 5-year, $85 million contract last fall.

The announcement made by Amtrak officials late Thursday comes one month after Amtrak sent a letter to Virginia Transportation Secretary Sean T. Connaughton warning him the company would not be ready for the transition and asking his offiice to closley monitor the situation.

Amtrak says VRE CEO Dale Zehner met with Amtrak President and CEO Joseph Boardman on Thursday and asked him to extend the current operations contract with VRE.

"Mr. Zehner asked Amtrak to continue operating VRE service for at least several weeks beyond the scheduled transition date," said Amtrak spokesman Steve Kulm.

VRE could not be reached for comment Thursday, but earlier this month the firm said Keolis was on track to meet the transition deadline. VRE officials are expected to address the pending transition Friday morning at a monthly operations meeting in Woodbridge.

Boardman said they would consider continuing VRE operations and stated that if Keolis is unable to meet the transition deadline VRE should rebid the contract, said Kulm.

Keolis recently conducted a nationwide search for new conductors and engineers to replace VRE's contracted Amtrak employees.

The jobs were initially offered to Amtrak employees already working on VRE's lines, with Keolis offering them a similar financial package, VRE reported.

The commuter rail agency had hoped to retain at least 70 percent of the Amtrak workforce. However, one Amtrak employee agreed to work for the French company in its first effort to operate trains in the U.S.

While a Keolis representative did not say Tuesday how many of the 45 workers they still needed to hire by June 28, he did say they are "on target and actively hiring people for the jobs." Keolis could not be reached for comment Thursday.

After hiring their train maintenance staff last fall, published reports show the contracted agency has hired 15 conductors and 15 engineers.

Most of the newly hired workers come from New Jersey, as that state's transportation agency con-tinues to cut jobs, according to published reports.

The newly hired employees will be working on rail lines belonging to three other companies, including Amtrak, CSX and Norfolk Southern.

"Norfolk Southern will provide classroom instruction in our rules and procedures, and administer the appropriate rules examination to Keolis personnel who will be operating VRE trains on our terri-tory," said NS spokeswoman Robin Chapman.

CSX, which owns VRE's Fredericksburg line, and Amtrak, which owns the rail line VRE operates in Washington, will have to administer similar training.

VRE expects to save $1.2 million a year with the Keolis contract, which comes with two five-year renewal options. It marks the first time in VRE's 17-year history Amtrak has not been charged with operating and maintaining VRE trains.

Keolis is the largest private sector French transport group. It is a significant operator of tramways as well as operating bus networks, funiculars, trolley buses and airport services. The company, based in Paris, is majority owned by a joint-participation made of AXA Private Equity and Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, and SNCF, the French state rail operator. Its turnover reached 2,8b[citation needed] in 2007.

What the fuck is a funicular? Sounds like an amusement park ride...or a circus train!

Damnit!

What is Keolis? It was the lowest bidder.