Incident had potentially 'catastrophic consequences,' arbitrator says
After misreading track traffic signals, a conductor was found guilty of endangering himself and his coworkers, and was rightfully fired, an arbitrator has ruled.
Wayne Denny, a train conductor at a Vale mine operation in Ontario since 2007, was fired in 2012 after giving the go-ahead to a locomotive engineer to proceed onto the track of a smelter when it was not safe to do so.
Though Denny claimed the light had been on when he gave the instruction to the engineer, and at some point thereafter must have been switched off, the employer said the light log indicated the signal had been off the entire time. As such, Denny was fired.
He, alongside his union, the United Steelworkers (USW), grieved the termination.
As a train conductor, Denny was responsible for a crew and the safe transportation of substances — in this case, the transfer of slag from the smelter. Essentially, a conductor acts as the eyes of the engineer.
Denny maintained the green light was on for the entire time he went to inspect the area. He looked for people, and determined no one was there. Typically, Denny would look to see if the green light was still on at another interior overhead mounted light, but he did not recall doing so that day. He gave the go-ahead, and the cable became pinched under the wheels of the car puller.
After the incident, management went to the light logs to confirm Denny’s story. The signal light was functioning normally that day, and there was no evidence to indicate otherwise.
As the employer saw it, Denny’s actions were reckless and inexcusable.
"(He) had violated procedures in that he had authorized the movement of the train on to the skimming track without the green light and had failed to look to see that the car puller chain had been disconnected," management said. "Someone could have been killed very easily. The $500,000 production piece carried a bit of weight — but nowhere near the possibility of people getting killed."
After reviewing the evidence — namely, the log records for the signals — arbitrator James Hayes dismissed the grievance, saying Denny’s actions warranted termination.
He also pointed to Vale’s past health and safety issues and, in particular, the record $1 million fine the mine was slapped with in 2013 for a worker’s death.
"(USW) Local 6500 and Vale have had far too much experience with serious workplace injuries. Mining is a dangerous occupation wherever it is conducted and mine safety is of critical importance, obviously," Hayes explained. "Any robust safety regime therefore must include serious consequences in cases of serious breach, consequences that include the possibility of discharge. An effective safety regime cannot be sustained without more than education and good intentions."
Reference: Vale Canada and the United Steel, Paper and Forestry, Rubber, Manufacturing, Energy, Allied Industrial and Service Workers International Union (USW) Local 6500. James Hayes — arbitrator. Timothy P. Liznick for the employer, Wess Dowsett for the employee. July 14, 2014.
