Special Board of Adjustment No. 1141 has now rendered a decision in the Remote Control dispute sustaining UTU's position that this new technology in terminal operations replaces the Engineer, and that no BLE rule is violated in the assignment of RC positions to ground service employees under the recent UTU National Remote Control Agreement.

With this issue now fully settled in the courts and in the arbitration process, it is our sincere hope that members and officers of both organizations can focus all of our efforts on insuring the safe implementation of this new technology, and on providing meaningful protection for employees in all crafts who may be adversely affected by these new operations. That means working together to improve RC training and develop reasonable implementation schedules so that seniority is the determining factor in awarding RC assignments, and negotiating protective arrangements that minimize the "trickle-down" effect of RC implementation. A meeting of all involved UTU General Chairmen is scheduled for February 11 and 12, 2003 to fully discuss these issues. A full report on the results of that meeting will be posted on this site.