Autonomous Technology Is Here

I see we have some candidates running for office that are talking about "Autonomous Vehicles." 

This is good. 

However, we need to be careful with language as a union of various crafts. Autonomous Technology should be our focus. Not just vehicles (or Autonomous Train Operation aka ATO)!

That is because we must deal with autonomous office/stockroom operations (Clerks), autonomous inspections (Track/Vehicle Maintenance), autonomous facilities (Stockrooms/Towers) and autonomous train/bus operation (Operations). 

If we wait for lobbyists and politicians, we will be too late!

We need to start with the low-hanging fruit NOW: Keeping and expanding and protecting Towermen, Clerks and Trackmen and Repairers from the obvious attempts to replace them—as it is being done worldwide. We already lost a Towerman spot at Clark Junction!

We as union officials must organize with the workers to save and expand jobs. That will bring better results than politicians and lobbyists.

I wrote about this for a committee I am on for Railroad Workers United. Here is an abstract from that document that we have made public (also viewable below). 

Amalgamated Transit Union 689 held a pretty good presentation about Autonomous Vehicles last last year (also viewable below). 

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