Bill Foster wrote:
>
> The thread that was going the other day in which people were complaining
> about poor dispatching, got me to wondering if anybody pays attention to
> what Mr. Dettmers puts in his Laments?
> The "planner" is referred to quite often by Mike and if you listen to radio
> chatter you will sometimes find dispatchers telling crews, "I'll see what
> they say..." or "well, they've changed their minds again...", etc.
> Dispatching ain't what it used to be, when the guy or gal in the
> dispatcher's seat ran the show the way he or she saw fit; which was usually
> quite efficient.
> Before we chastise the poor person directing the traffic flow, let's find
> out who's calling the shots.
>
> 73,
> Bill Foster
> President
> Haley Tower Historical & Technical Society
Bill brings up a couple of very good points.
On the Latta Sub for years and years the Chief DS did it all. Then,
after the strike of 94 that began to change because CP, which is
fundamentally am anti-union organization, learned what when the chief
walked nobody knew what to do. So they figure if it's a management
monkey they will never walk AND the carrier can direct them any way they
see fit without union and work rule concerns.
So what you get is a person with no dispatching sense calling the shots
and the guy who knows what's going on essentially powerless. Really a
frustrating position to be in. And I know CP is not alone. I listen to
the CSX box and hear the DS often times complaining about the "Pig
Police" and how they direct them to move trains (totes) without regard
for the other moves. Many a Friday night I have heard them basically
shut down the railroad for 2 trains, with the result being dead train
galore and (it being a weekend) no crews to get them. This scenario can
and sometimes does carry over all the way into Monday afternoon, only to
repeat again on Friday.
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