Hollywood, FL – ATDA President Dowell and Vice President Denucci met with CSXT CEO Hinrichs, COO Cory and VP of Labor Relations Wall, while taking part in the annual Cooperating Railway Labor Organizations (CRLO) winter meetings. The dialogue with Hinrichs covered a variety of topics relevant to ATDA members. These included the FRA’s Confidential Close Call Reporting System (C3RS), which all Class-1 Rail Carrier CEOs (including Hinrichs) previously agreed to implement. When Dowell asked why the commitment to implement C3RS has not been fulfilled, Hinrichs echoed familiar talking points raised by the Association of American Railroads (AAR) over the past year. However, he also said that he is willing to sit down with labor to work on the sticking points that have held up implementation of the program.
In a private conversation with Hinrichs, Dowell expressed that it was long past time for CSX Dispatchers to be unified under a single Collective Bargaining Agreement, with an equal rate of pay. Speaking on this issue, Dowell said, “The CSXT-East Dispatchers work in the same office as those covered by the CSX-South Agreement. There is no acceptable reason they should be paid less.” Hinrichs responded by indicating that he would talk with his team about the issue. Dowell and Denucci followed up by speaking to CSX VP of Labor Relations Jeff Wall on the matter and reinforced the ATDA’s priorities for CSX’s ATDA members: one agreement, one rate of pay, and get C3RS implemented on the property.
When asked for comment, Dowell said, “I think these meetings are important to create momentum from the top down. I am hopeful that Joe and Jeff can and will kick start discussions on these two issues.”