Railroads

‘We Are Not Done Yet’: Railroad Track Workers Reject Deal

October 12, 2022 Jonah Furman, Labor Notes. Resist! Labor Unions, Railroads, Strikes, Worker Rights and Jobs

Members of the Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employees, who build and maintain tracks and bridges, have voted down a national tentative agreement with the freight rail carriers. Just under 12,000 of the union’s 23,900 freight rail workers voted, the union announced October 10, with 56 percent voting against the deal. Leaders said they’re hoping to return to the bargaining table. The union is delaying any potential strike until November 19 at the earliest. In a statement, BMWE President Tony Cardwell attributed the rejection to members’ feeling that “management holds no regard for their quality of life, illustrated by their stubborn reluctance to provide a higher quantity of paid time off, especially for sickness.” Railroad workers currently get no paid sick days.

BMWED Rejects Deal; Strike Not Imminent

October 12, 2022 Frank N. Wilner, Railway Age. Resist! Railroads, Strike, Transportation, Worker Rights and Jobs

Four of 12 rail labor unions already have ratified tentative agreements with the National Carriers Conference Committee (NCCC), which bargains on behalf of most Class I railroads and many smaller ones. Seven other rail labor unions are currently conducting ratification votes. All provisions of existing wage, benefits and work rules agreements will remain in force as contracts negotiated under the Railway Labor Act have no expiration date and are changed only by ratified amendments. A work stoppage by BMWED—or any of the other seven unions that have yet to ratify—is not anticipated before late November, if at all. A work stoppage by any of the rail unions, however, can be expected to cause a nationwide rail shutdown. Carriers also could trigger such a shutdown by locking out the work force—as it did in 1992—if a work stoppage is initiated against just one railroad.

New Rail Deal May Still Be Doomed Over Scheduling Issues

September 27, 2022 Jordan Barab. Educate! Health Care, Railroads, Strike, Worker Rights

Does this seem like a good way to attract loyal, dedicated, satisfied workers? Come work for the railroad. It’s a great job, decent pay. Hours may be a bit long. You’ll spend weeks at a time away from home in cheap motels and miss important family events, kids sports games, birthdays, recitals and vacations, weddings and funerals. You can get called up at any time, so don’t even try to make plans. Stay healthy because you’ll be punished or even fired for an unexpected medical event. Also, great pension…if you live that long. Aaron Hiles, a locomotive engineer, for BNSF didn’t live that long. Aaron Hiles, a locomotive engineer, told his wife he “felt different,” though he couldn’t say exactly how. He made an appointment to see a doctor, his family said. But then his employer, BNSF, one of the largest freight rail carriers in the nation, unexpectedly called him into work.

Rank And File Rail Workers Group Urges Mass Picketing Today

September 21, 2022 Railroad Workers United. Resist! Railroads, Strike, Transportation, Worker Rights

An ad hoc group of rank and file working railroad workers has come together to call for informational pickets at rail terminals around the country. In the face of the controversial Tentative Agreement (TA) that has been reached by the myriad of unions in various forms, this informal grouping has called on railroad workers to join in the protests scheduled for Wednesday. The group has not identified itself by name. It is an expression of working rail workers who are angry and unhappy with the treatment that railroad workers have endured in recent years. The group posted an announcement on social media Sunday. While not party to organizing the Wednesday actions, Railroad Workers United (RWU) supports these types of efforts and encourages all rail workers to take part in the events at rail terminals where planned.

Joe Biden Thinks A Rail Strike Has Been Averted

September 17, 2022 Jonah Furman, Labor Notes. Resist! Joe Biden, Railroads, Strike, Worker Rights

Just after 5 a.m. on Thursday, Marty Walsh tweeted that the railroad companies and the railroad unions had come to a tentative agreement, less than 19 hours from a potential shutdown: “Moments ago, following more than 20 consecutive hours of negotiations at [the Department of Labor], the rail companies and union negotiators came to a tentative agreement that balances the needs of workers, businesses, and our nation’s economy. The Biden Administration applauds all parties for reaching this hard-fought, mutually beneficial deal. Our rail system is integral to our supply chain, and a disruption would have had catastrophic impacts on industries, travelers and families across the country.” By 11:30 a.m., Joe Biden was in the White House Rose Garden, declaring victory: “This is a win for tens of thousands of rail workers and for their dignity and the dignity of their work, it’s a recognition of that.”

I’m A Railroad Worker

September 17, 2022 Jay, The Real News. Resist! Corporatism, Railroads, Strike, Worker Rights

As I think about generations gone by, the values people held, the moral compasses that guided them, I can’t help but wonder what our ancestors would say about the mess this country is in today. Somewhere along the line, I think, a paradigm shift occurred: We stripped this country down and sold every scrap of society and community to the highest bidder, while the things that we used to hold near and dear withered and rotted like old fruit. We’ve forgotten what the Constitution of this great nation says, we hate each other for our differences rather than embracing them, and our leaders—the purported champions of the oppressed, the self-styled protectors of all things fair and just—have become our enemies. The corporations controlling next to every facet of our daily lives are well aware of this, and they are actively capitalizing on the chaos at our expense.

No Work Stoppage For Now

September 15, 2022 Frank N. Wilner, Railway Age. Educate! Railroads, Strike, Unions, Victory, Worker Rights and Jobs

It means there will be no nationwide rail work stoppage beginning Friday, Sept. 16, or for the next few weeks, but the threat of a management lockout or labor strike is not over as memberships of only two of the 12 unions have so far ratified tentative agreements. All tentative agreements, however, contain “me too” clauses, meaning the sweeteners reached during the all-night bargaining session will apply across the board. They also will be offered to one union that has rejected a tentative deal accepted by its leadership, with expectation that its members will ratify on a second attempt. For almost 20 hours until just after 5 a.m. Sept. 15, Walsh locked horns with the negotiating teams of the NCCC, the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET); the Transportation Division of the International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers (SMART-TD); and the Brotherhood of Railroad Signalmen.

The Federal Government Is Trying To Stop Railroad Workers From Striking

September 13, 2022 Joe Burns, Jacobin. Strategize! Railroads, Strike, Unions, Workers Rights and Jobs

For months, 140,000 union railroad workers have been stuck at an impasse with their employers, who are united under the banner of the Association of American Railroads. The terms of the dispute should be familiar to most workers: attendance policy, staffing, and wage increases. Despite record profits, rail employers have cut staffing, placing enormous burdens on workers that aren’t reflected in their pay. By all accounts, railworkers are in a militant mood. An attendance policy prompted rail unions to attempt to strike earlier this year. In July, 99 percent of union members who cast ballots voted to authorize another strike, prompting President Joe Biden to intervene in August. In order to avert a strike, Biden appointed a presidential emergency board (PEB) to reach a compromise and settle the dispute.

AAR Report: Nationwide Rail Shutdown Could Cost $2 Billion Per Day

September 12, 2022 Carolina Worrell, Railway Age. Resist! Finance and the Economy, Railroads, Strike, Worker Rights and Jobs

According to the report, if negotiations between the remaining rail unions and the National Carrier Conference Committee (NCCC), which represents most Class I railroads and many smaller ones, remain unsettled by Friday, Sept. 16 at 12:01 a.m., “Congress must act to prevent a service interruption that would immediately harm every economic sector served by rail.” Failure to act, AAR says, could idle more than 7,000 trains daily and trigger retail product shortages, widespread manufacturing shutdowns, job losses and disruptions to hundreds of thousands of passenger rail customers. Specifically, the report updates a 1992 Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) econometric study to quantify the potential impacts of a national rail shutdown on employment and economic output in today’s dollars.

Joint Statement On Rail Embargo

September 12, 2022 BLET. Educate! Railroads, Unions, Worker Rights and Jobs

Move announced by the nation’s largest railroads today to further abuse shippers and gridlock the supply chain in order to extort a contract settlement from rail unions Late on Friday, September 9, the nation’s largest railroads began warning major shippers that they are declaring an embargo on certain types of new shipments five days in advance of the end of the federally mandated cooling-off period at 12:00 AM EDT September 16. They further advised that all rail shippers could be blocked from making any rail shipments well in advance of next Friday’s deadline for a lockout or strike. This completely unnecessary attack on rail shippers by these highly profitable Class I railroads is no more than corporate extortion.

Showdown Building Between US Railroaders And Biden Administration

September 10, 2022 Tom Hall, WSWS. Resist! Joe Biden, Railroads, Strike, Worker Rights and Jobs

With less than one week to go before the September 16 deadline when a national railway strike can legally begin, a conflict is brewing between US railroad workers, on the one hand, and the major corporations, Washington and the trade union apparatus, on the other. The sentiment for a strike among 100,000 railroaders is overwhelming. In July, engineers voted to authorize a strike by 99.5 percent. But it is not simply a question of what they want. They have no other choice. It is impossible for them to continue to work 80 hours or even 100 hours a week, on call 24/7. The brutal work regime in the railroad industry, which is more profitable than any other, renders workers strangers to their families and leaves them even without time to schedule doctor’s appointments.

The Pending Railroad Worker Strike Is A Fight For All Workers

September 5, 2022 Margaret Flowers, Clearing the FOG. Podcast Biden administration, BlackRock, Railroads, Worker Rights

Railroad workers voted overwhelmingly this year to go on strike after more than two years of contract negotiations. The Biden administration prevented a strike by appointing a Presidential Emergency Board (PEB) to hold hearings. That board released its recommendations recently. Clearing the FOG speaks with Michael "Paul" Lindsey, a railroad engineer and member of Railroad Workers United, about the deterioration of working conditions, workers' response to the PEB and the high likelihood of a national strike this Fall. Lindsey explains why the railroad worker's plight is similar to that of many workers in the United States and around the world and the importance of solidarity if a strike occurs.

96% Of Freight Rail Workers Want To Strike, Survey Finds

September 3, 2022 Aaron Gordon, Portside. Resist! Joe Biden, Railroads, Strikes, Worker Rights and Jobs

96 percent of freight rail workers still want to strike as soon as they can under federal law, despite a Joe Biden-appointed emergency mediation board recently drawing up terms for a potential compromise contract, according to a survey conducted by a railroad worker group. The survey is the latest indication that the deep, years-long cleavage between workers and management centering on working conditions, pay, and health care benefits at the country’s freight rail lines will not be easily reconciled. “People are pretty furious,” said Railroad Workers United secretary Ron Kaminkow, who conducted the survey. He added there was “nothing really surprising, but it’s always very vindicating when the word on the street and from your co-workers that it’s overwhelming is verified.”

Rail Workers Reject Contract Recommendations, Ready to Strike

September 2, 2022 Joe Demanuelle-Hall, Labor Notes. Resist! Railroads, Strike, Unions, Worker Rights and Jobs

Railroad unions continue their slow creep along the path to a settlement—or strike—in contract negotiations covering 115,000 workers. On August 16, the Presidential Emergency Board convened by President Biden issued its recommendations for a settlement. Many rail workers say they fall short and are prepared to strike to win more. The PEB recommended 22 percent raises over the course of the five-year contract (dating back to 2020), which would be the highest wage increases rail unions have seen in decades. But they are offset by increases in health care costs—and come in the midst of high inflation.

Railroaders Furious With Biden’s Presidential Emergency Board

August 19, 2022 Tom Hall, WSWS. Resist! Joe Biden, Railroads, Unions, Worker Rights and Jobs

The Presidential Emergency Board (PEB) appointed by the Biden administration issued its recommendations Tuesday for a settlement in the railroad industry, where more than 100,000 workers have been without a national contract for nearly three years. The report sided with the railroads on virtually every point, recommending wage increases below inflation and no change to the punishing attendance policies which have driven tens of thousands of workers out of the industry. The PEB was appointed last month shortly after railroaders in the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET) voted by 99.5 percent to authorize strike action, showing that workers were determined to fight against conditions which have reached the breaking point.

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