>I also agree that hiring people with common sense would go a long ways for all or our safety.

First off, you'll never hear me use the term "common sense" for the simple reason that it's undefinable. Your "common sense" is based on your background -- growing up, injuries, loves, hates, etc., all those things which make you uniquely you. Being an entirely different individual, my life experineces aren't the same as yours, so my "common sense" is different than yours. The same can be said about anyone you meet in life. Thus, the term means a different thing to each individual, rendering it virtually impossible to reach a common denomenator to use for the meaning of the term. This makes it undefineable.

>Unfortunately the union helps squash any of that.

You've never heard of the BLE and UTU Legislative Departments? This is what their job is. During the hearings several years ago regarding the changing of the HOS law, the Unions -- their legislative dpeartments -- came to the hearings with documentation for 29,000 accumulated hours of limbo time over the previous 10 years, and this had an effect on the new work/rest formulae.

Between about 1900 1955, there were joint labor [union]-management safety programs which were very effective. With the downturn of railroad business after WWII, the companies gradually stopped funding these programs (this was the era of the rise of Robert McNamara and the Whiz Kids and their number crunching approach to management, the origins of bottom line-ism). Today's joint efforts are mere shadows of those programs. As such, labor doesn't put a lot of stock in them -- management doesn't really listen to labor the way it used to. THEY are in charge and we have no say in the matter.

>If a competitive work place were promoted by the union and not one based on seniority (and often laziness) everyone would benefit

You've never worked for a Simon Legree-like manager have you? The BLE is the Nation's oldest union. It goes back to the Civil War, when it had to meet in secret for fear of being labled traitors. All they wanted was better working conditions and piece of the war bounty (money) coming from the Gov't contracts. The seniority system is designed to prevent management favoritism, which in itself also shields incompetence. If you don't think favoritism is a problem, go back to never-never land.