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"limbo time"; that is, the time used up by rail workers after they munication to involve those in the field with those who are
have completed a 12-hour shift to wait for transport to their making decisions that affect them. Labor unions work cooper-
home base and for which they are not compensated. Greater atively with management to varying degrees. The legacy con-
labor-management collaboration and increased accounta- tractual and once-regulated modal relationships can impede
bility could eliminate the problems of "limbo time" and discussions of ways to resolve problems. On the other hand,
stranded crews. the cooperative efforts of longshoremen and seafarers to work
with management in meeting the needs of critical national
Labor Supply and Training. There has been shortages in demands to keep cargo flowing through our nation's ports and
experienced labor supply particularly for inland waterway waterways has reduced risks and shared the costs of training.
operations. The Federal employees who operate the nation's Communication among goods movement partners, labor, and
locks and dams are experiencing retirement of older, seasoned management appear to be gaining a foothold in the most
personnel with pressure from the Department of Defense recent contract negotiations.
(DOD) to contract out their work rather than to hire and train
Federal employees.
Union specialist lock operators and mechanics are fre- 4.2.4.3 Regulatory Constraints
quently on single-person shifts to operate the facilities and Several of the unions cited the new DHS requirements for
must have expertise in the total operational facility as they are all modal workers to have a TWIC as a problem. These con-
the first responders to any difficulties at the facilities. The cerns include the fact that monitors are not yet in place to
union representing these workers has worked with manage- read the electronic identification cards and so labor must be
ment at the local level to counteract contracting out to inex- used to check these cards for persons entering and leaving
perienced workers. transportation facilities such as port terminals. Such persons
The Teamsters have responded to mobility constraints include railroad workers who are not yet sure if the railroads
by allowing motor carriers more flexible use of Teamster will cover the cost of their cards or if the railroads will place
drivers. For example, the Teamsters now allow companies to the burden upon the ports to escort non-TWIC-carded indi-
put empty trailers on rail equipment, whereas before, the con- viduals into and out of the port.
tract required motor carriers to use road drivers to do so.
Also, to reduce travel during peak congestion times, the union
strongly advocates that trucking companies and their cus-
4.2.5 Summary
tomers allow evening and weekend deliveries. 4.2.5.1 Causes of Constraints
Productivity and Use of Technical Tools. Technical tools The survey results clearly indicate that overall, DHS secu-
are being developed within all modes to facilitate greater pro- rity requirements do not significantly impede freight move-
ductivity of people and equipment. The labor unions have ments by highway and rail. However, deepwater port, inland
supported these moves particularly as it improves other con- waterway, and labor union respondents indicate that DHS
cerns such as labor allocation pools that must respond to daily security requirements somewhat impede efficient freight move-
or weekly changes in demand; operational communication ments (Figure 13).
processes between labor and management; business transac- More than 65 percent of respondents indicate that Fed-
tion paperwork that labor is responsible to complete; and facil- eral, state, and local land use and environmental regulations
itation of safety in the field with electronic warning systems. impede efficient freight operations to noticeable extents. As
Unfortunately, their successes depend upon the accuracy of the noted in Figure 14, these regulations appear to affect freight
information communicated among the participants in manag- movements through the deepwater ports more than by rail
ing the goods movement process and in warning of system and highway. Land use restrictions inhibit provision of park-
delays. The railroads are working with the Federal government ing facilities particularly in urban areas, thus constraining
to devise new safety warning systems and are developing com- mobility of freight vehicles on the highway system.
munications systems that can operate in "blackout" areas. The Federal and state safety regulations are noted to impede effi-
clerks and checkers at deepwater port terminals are being cient freight operations to noticeable extents by all modes, as
trained in the new computer systems and it is expected that as shown in Figure 14. With regards to land use and environmen-
younger members join the workforce, they will reflect their tal regulations, freight movements through deepwater ports
generation's use of computer skills and technical tools. and by inland waterways are shown to be impacted more than
movements by rail and highway (Figure 15). In general, Fed-
Management-Labor Communications. The challenge of eral and state regulatory requirements, including safety, secu-
addressing goods movement constraints and resulting delays rity, environmental, and land use do impede freight mobility
involves multiple variables frequently including a lack of com- to noticeable extents.
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80
None Not Much
Somewhat Very Much
70
60
Percent of Respondents
50
40
30
20
10
0
Highways Railroads Deepwater Ports
Figure 13. Impact of DHS requirements.
80
Impede Very Much Impede Somewhat No Impact
Improve Somewhat Improve Very Much
70
60
Percent of Respondents
50
40
30
20
10
0
Highways Railroads Deepwater Ports
Figure 14. Effects of Federal and state safety regulations.
80 Impede Very Much
Impede Somewhat
No Impact
70 Improve Somewhat
Improve Very Much
60
Percent of Respondents
50
40
30
20
10
0
Highways Railroads Deepwater Ports
Figure 15. Effects of land use and environmental regulations.
