Railroaders' Nostalgia > Mad Dog Chronicle #124 Strike Duty

#124 Strike Duty

During this particular work stoppage (I think it was the clerks in late July or early August of 1978) the commute fleet was not picketed so that the commute trains continued to run on schedule up and down the San Francisco Peninsula. It was partly out of his concern for the smooth operation of these commute trains that Jones had wanted to talk with either Jim Bays, the Terminal Superintendent for San Francisco, or to me. He wanted a progress report on the commutes, and he did not want to wait for it, either.

Partially as a result in the delay in getting one of us to the phone, Jones told all of the officers who were manning the Oakland Terminal to all stay put in the office, where he could be sure of reaching them on the phones and not running around in the yard making up their trains.. As a direct result of that, when Jones finally issued us the OK to run our trains, Bays had his train doubled out the Inbound lead and I had mine doubled out the Outbound lead. Both of us had completed our initial terminal air tests and when Jones finally gave the word, we departed. Our only delays were meets with the northbound morning fleet at stations. On the other hand the fellows at Oakland hadn’t even started to make up their trains.

We crossed San Francisco Bay via the Dumbarton Bridge and were rounding the corner at Elmhurst before any of the cuts were ready to double out of Oakland. We asked for and were given the signals all the way past Sixteenth Street by the Signal Department officers who were manning the Interlocking towers that day. This meant that the two trains made up in SF were out of Oakland before any of the trains originating from the Oakland Terminal that day. Now both Bays and I were heroes instead of goats in Mr Jones book. We made it to Roseville, went to eat and were given the Autoparts train for Warm Springs to return back to Oakland. We died on the law that day as we cleared the main at Judson Steel. Not a bad days work.

In fact, one of the things that I remember most about working during work stoppages was crossing craft lines and running through terminal. In this particular instance, we had been switchmen, carmen, clerks, and performed the normal, for that point in time, work of three road crews.

I actually think that what could be done with crews of two and running thru terminals got planted in the minds of SP supervisors during these infrequent strikes.

5/18/05
mdo

>"This meant that the two trains made up in SF were out of >Oakland before any of the trains originating from the Oakland >Terminal that day. Now both Bays and I were heroes instead of >goats in Mr Jones book. We made it to Roseville, went to eat >and were given the Autoparts train for Warm Springs to return >back to Oakland. We died on the law that day as we cleared >the main at Judkins. Not a bad days work."

Great job, sure nice that you made it…Now can you tell us how you made it from SF to Roseville in less then 12 hrs? And then got on another train and traveled back west on your great endeavor?

>"In fact, one of the things that I remember most about >working during work stoppages was crossing craft lines and >running through terminal. In this particular instance, we had >been switchmen, carmen, clerks, and performed the normal, for >that point in time, work of three road crews."

Boy, you must be proud crossing craft lines, and superman also…You did the work of “Three” road crews!!! I’d love to have you as my yard Forman….As a matter of fact, I’m still working, come on up and impress me with you switching abilities…

>"I actually think that what could be done with crews of two >and running thru terminals got planted in the minds of SP >supervisors during these infrequent strikes."

You wish, it had nothing to do with you….just ask Philip Anschutz, and what he gave to the SP crews for the UP meager….

Just my thought’s from a Locomotive Engineer who went through your time in Oakland, Ca.

All is not what is posted as it may seem...just ask what really happened...

Mike Rogers

Mike Rogers

Ouch, sounds like someone has something against the old Mad Dog. While there are two sides to every story, personal attacks against someone is just poor taste.

Mad Dog, keep the stories coming, I personally enjoy the stories of railroad life in the 1970's.

Strike duty was always interesting and challenging. In most cases it gave the officers a better appreciation for what the union guys did. Tieing down handbrakes is a lot of work, and then there was a split switch at Taylor that sticks in my mind. But as Mike describes, it also teaches the art of the possible. I was on a crew that took a train from Eugene all the way through to Roseville within 16 hours....the hog law was 16 hours back in those days.
Labor management relations were not all bad. I remember a clerks strike in which the office crew at Salinas worked their butts off to have everything caught up before midnight, and after they picked up their picket signs we regularly took them coffee because it was cold out side. But the atmosphere was downright hostile in some other places.

JBW

BNSF6400 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Ouch, sounds like someone has something against
> the old Mad Dog. While there are two sides to
> every story, personal attacks against someone is
> just poor taste.

Personal attack? Not by any means, just a view from someone who was there....So what would like me to do, candy coat it? You may love his Chronicle's....But that is not how I saw it...
So, now you have the other side....Or maybe not?

Mike Rogers
Locomotive Engineer

ShastaLake Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
........, just a view
> from someone who was there....So what would like
> me to do, candy coat it? You may love his
> Chronicle's....But that is not how I saw it...
> So, now you have the other side....Or maybe not?
>
> Mike Rogers
> Locomotive Engineer
>




Mr Rogers is making a point that I, myself did not make clear in my original posts.

These were not normal conditions. Other than the Commute fleet, there was none of the normal traffic. No opposing trains, no yard engines out on the leads. None of the locals or road switchers at Newark or Mulford or Crocket. No being held out of Oakland at 5th Avenue. And no waiting for the train at Roseville. It was waiting for us.

mdo

mdo Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> We
> made it to Roseville, went to eat and were given
> the Autoparts train for Warm Springs to return
> back to Oakland. We died on the law that day as
> we cleared the main at Judkins.

Er, I thought Judkins was just RR west of Eugene. Is there another one in our neck of the woods that escaped me all these years?

I vaguely recall early 1970s strike duty at the UP. We were at least as bad as the SP Oakland staff in getting trains out of Albina. SPX (our hottest train) left town at noon instead of 7am.

Best regards,

Rob L.

Meant to say Judson as in Judson Steel, the xovers at 34th st. I fixed it Rob.

mdo

ShastaLake Wrote:

> Great job, sure nice that you made it…Now can you
> tell us how you made it from SF to Roseville in
> less then 12 hrs? And then got on another train
> and traveled back west on your great endeavor?

Well, if you figure 2-1/2 hrs to double over and do an air test, 2-1/2 hrs to run to Oakland, 3 hrs to Roseville, 1 hr to eat and get on the next train, then 3 hrs back to die on the lead into Oakland, then yes its possible. Probably not safe as a regular practice, but yes, possible. And I think Mike's point was that the strike situation pointed out what was POSSIBLE. Interesting.

SW1200

With nothing standing in the way or opposing and all greens, it is easy to make it from Bayshore to Roseville and back to Oakland within the hours of service. Oakland in 4 1/2 hrs hours (including doubling out of Bayshore and restricted speed through the yards on the main), Roseville in 3 1/4, quick bite to eat and back to 34th St in Oakland in 3.

Funny MDO brings up strike situations. Just yesterday I was lunching with the nurse manager I hired to set up the home health and hospice department at my medical center, Kaiser, Santa Teresa in San Jose.We were talking about the current labor negotiations underway with Local 250 Kaiser is a heavily unionized organization---we had 7 bargaining units at Santa Teresa, the largest of which was Local 250, those people who worked in housekeeping, dietary, business office, chartroom, etc. Non-medical, non-certificated or non-licensed personnel who basically kept all the support services in the place running. Important people, no question. In 1986 it was time for the bi-annual labor negotiations with the union asking for the stars, planets and galaxy and the company offering toothpicks and lumps of coal, which is the way all labor negotiations start in all companies, railroad, automotive, health, etc. etc. To the surprise of most everyone as the bi-annual negotiation ritual went its course, someone was supposed to blink---------the union thought that "we" would, and we thought that "they" would. No one did. And so ensued a 7+ week strike which found all of us management types and the physicians as well doing all sorts of things we had never done before on 12 hour shifts, 6 days a week------------we learned a lot. We learned how to cut costs big time-------we learned how to make things better for the union people as well--------but in the long run, the union lost because there were some jobs that just never got filled again. And to take this into another health care segment,, Blue Cross, which had their corporate offices in Oakland also (which, ironically, Kaiser later bought the building from them which I then dubbed the BlueSkai building) 0----anyway, Blue Cross had a major strike for several months------managers took over the jobs and ultimately, when the stike was over, over 800 jobs were never replaced.
C.

The N&W sponsored a book about their 1978 strike experience. As stated above, management claimed to have gained a new perspective on how much "featherbedding" (the popular term then) there was on their RR. Three-, then two-man, crews were right around the corner. And, the clerks were specially singled out for extinction. I've heard that the violence in the Portsmouth,OH, area caused one co. official (R.F. Dunlap?) to vow to turn the place, once one of the largest yards in the country, into a ghost town. There were many factors involved,(the new Bellevue yard, longer crew districts, bigger diesels with bigger fuel tanks) but if you look at what was there then and what's left, I'd say they definitely took a hit.

Clerical forces took a HUGE hit after the 1978 BRAC strike. They started disappearing here and there and one of the things that struck many of us when the N&W and SOU merged in 1982 was how many clerks they had working, the N&W had already been "downsizing" their staff.

In my part of the railroad world, I can't say that I saw longer crew districts come out of the 1978 strike.

One thing the N&W book does is sugarcoat a lot of what went on. Can't specifically say that I know what went on while we were off but I can say that there sure were a lot of downed signals and scrap piles scattered around. Also, we would hear stories. . .just bits and pieces, but there were stories.

Business was a long time recovering and then the early eighties downturn in the economy came and it was a slow time. That strike didn't gain anything.

halfmoonharold Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
. I've heard
> that the violence in the Portsmouth,OH, area
> caused one co. official (R.F. Dunlap?) to vow to
> turn the place, once one of the largest yards in
> the country, into a ghost town.

I think he actually vowed to turn it into nothing but a "whistlepost". It didn't happen, but they lost all of their yard jobs in Portsmouth and the hump that was there is levelled today. Although there were lots of rumors about making runthrough pools from Columbus to Williamson, WV, that never came about. IIRC, R. F. Dunlap was in Portsmouth during the heighth of the violence.

I am getting in late on this thread but feel that non-railroad employee members should have a balanced view of the reality of work stoppage operations.

While MDO's views are certainly valid and, after all, he lived and was part of the picture I should add a personal touch.

I too was an officer of the SP during some of these work stoppages and know first hand of the 'liberties' that were taken particularly with the Federal Hours Of Service Act.

Spring 1971, Tucson. SP Engineers and Trainmen are on strike. I was called to take a train east toward El Paso. As to my crew; I was a supervisor of engine service training, my Conductor was an engineering department type and my brakeman was a bridge and building supervisor. I was the only one with any experience in train operations. As I entered the cab, a roundhouse foreman was finishing the air test after building the locomotive consist. He was trying to insert the independent (driver brake) handle into the brake valve. He got it in (upside down) only to have the handle fall onto the floor whereupon he grunted a greeting and dove by me and out the front door. I took this as a clue that all might not be in order on my consist and then spent the next half-hour checking the foremans handiwork. As expected, many errors were discovered and I corrected them. Next we put the power on the train. An air test (I suppose, since I made the required set, checked leakage and released the brakes) was done. After a few minutes we departed. As I was leaving the yard on the eastbound main, neck and neck with another eastbound train in charge of the RFE for the territory running on the westbound main, both of us headed for Mescal, a voice came over the radio. "We'll show you on duty now". (I forget the exact time at this remove). What about the time I and the RFE and our crews spent preparing and departing? I know that in my case I had spent at least a couple of hours in 'Covered' HOS service before those words were uttered. I was seeing a new (to me), not so pretty picture of managerial discretion.

My point; the so-called efficiencies and possibilities are not so great as supposed when held to the truth of compliance with established law. This is one account. I am sure that other violations of not only the HOS but the Power Brake Law occur during these work disruptions. I am not saying that violations don't occur during 'normal' operations. Cerainly they do. What I am saying is that an atmosphere of 'creativity' is/was fostered among management during these situations that allows these liberties to occur. These laws are there to protect the public as well as the employees. Unfortunately, the definition of success is sometimes skewed to reward such actions.

Just trying to show a clearer picture.

Charlie

In my RR M/W career, there were days when it was fun when we were shorthanded. This typically happened during basketball season when several of the guys would be too hung over in the morning after watching the last night's game to come to work, even though they were staying in a company paid-for motel.

The guys who did show up usually had the best work ethic. Sometimes management types like me got to help out running equipment, spiking, flagging or doing other duties.

The BMWE had a button at the time saying "We come to work, but not to die." I thought it should have been changed for some of the men and women to say, "We come to work, but not today".

I wish to clearly state where I am comming from on the issue of organized labor.

First, My grandfather was the president of the local plumbers union during the 1930s.
A good union soldier, he led the plumbers in joining the ILWU inspired, general strike in San Francisco during the 1930s. For this he was black listed and did not work at his craft for several years.

I, myself belonged to SUNA until I resigned my seniority when I joined the SP management team in 1968.

My son presently works as a labor organizer for the ILWU.

My comments about Railroad Labor are clearly from the perspective of Railroad Management at the SP, but they are my own, from my own perspective and DO NOT reflect the view of SP Management, in general, or of SP Labor Relations Department in any era, under any particular regime, be it Biaggini, McNear, Anschutz, Moyers, or certainly the UP.

mdo

mdo Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I wish to clearly state where I am comming from on
> the issue of organized labor.
>
> >
> My comments about Railroad Labor are clearly from
> the perspective of Railroad Management at the SP,
> but they are my own, from my own perspective and
> DO NOT reflect the view of SP Management, in
> general, or of SP Labor Relations Department in
> any era, under any particular regime, be it
> Biaggini, McNear, Anschutz, Moyers, or certainly
> the UP.
>
> mdo

Thanks, Mike. As we already knew, this topic is understandably charged with emotion. I have found it helpful to keep in mind at all times the role each of us plays in this drama. It is management's role to seek efficiencies in the operation. To do otherwise would be a betrayal of their most elemental function. I have long said I would be really uneasy if there were no oversight. That would mean no one is watching the store and the whole operation would ultimately be in jeopardy of collapsing. The
so-called 'workers' role is to perform their assigned tasks professionally and with the discipline to do their duties completely; no matter if the manager is watching or not. Now, if both sides of this equation could simply do their part and show respect to each other.....

Charlie

cewherry Wrote:
> Thanks, Mike. As we already knew, this topic is
> understandably charged with emotion. I have found
> it helpful to keep in mind at all times the role
> each of us plays in this drama. It is management's
> role to seek efficiencies in the operation. To do
> otherwise would be a betrayal of their most
> elemental function.

Boy, I just love this, do you also do Birthdays?


> I have long said I would be
> really uneasy if there were no oversight. That
> would mean no one is watching the store and the
> whole operation would ultimately be in jeopardy of
> collapsing.

Gosh, really? you mean with out you, every railroader would be doing the moon walk?

> The so-called 'workers' role is to perform their
> assigned tasks professionally and with the
> discipline to do their duties completely; no
> matter if the manager is watching or not.

The "so-called 'workers' role" Gosh you are something, I just hope that you no longer work for a real railroad....I Think you better check your toe-nails, they need clipping...


> Now, if both sides of this equation could simply do their
> part and show respect to each other.....

Charlie, I think you better go back to the pacifier, as from what you have stated, you need to grow up....This is Class I territory....

And so it goes....

Mike Rogers
Div 425 BLE&T

Where is Gordon Adams when we need him?