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I’m usually a pro-union guy. But then there’s stuff like this:
Railroad union officials being questioned about last year’s deadly commuter-rail crash in California told a federal panel this morning that they objected to having surveillance cameras facing inside the cab to monitor engineers and other crew members inside locomotives.
The officials said they could accept outward-facing cameras — which, for example, would monitor the track — but that inward-facing cameras could violate the privacy of crew members. Instead, they suggested having a second person in the cab.
There was much discussion at the hearing, which began Tuesday, about the use of technologies to monitor and record events inside the locomotives, the way airplanes are equipped with data and voice recorders. Mr. Walpert said he opposed voice recorders for the same reason he opposed cameras, as a violation of privacy.
You know what? No. If you’re driving a train that has dozens or hundreds of people aboard, you shouldn’t be doing anything that requires personal privacy. You should be doing the job or you shouldn’t. I don’t know if inward-facing cameras will make California rail passengers safer, but the railroad union’s stated reason for opposition is unconscionably silly.
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