Why we can't strike The United Auto Workers made it look so easy. They struck General Motors, and two days later they had a contract. Then they struck Chrysler, and six hours later they had a contract. The BLE sat down with the Railroads and reached an agreement. So, our UTU members have asked, ‘‘why don’t we have the guts to strike Norfolk Southern to get a fair contract and in retaliation for their not bargaining in good faith over wages, benefits and working conditions, like the entry rate levels”? Make no mistake, WE ARE AT WAR WITH NORFOLK SOUTHERN, on the National level, along with the other major railroads and their National Bargaining Committee, NCCC. We are also at war with the BLE, who have joined forces with the railroads by signing a contract, which will trade away their soul and the Conductors jobs, just as they traded away the Firemans job for $1.50 per day, in return for a few pieces of silver. But that is a story for another article and we will deal with those traitors when the time comes. The answer is that railroad workers are covered by a different labor law than most workers in America, including the auto workers in the UAW. That Law is the Railway Labor Act, which is designed to prevent strikes on the railroads, except in very limited circumstances and only after prolonged federal intervention. The Law of the Railway Labor Act sets collective bargaining requirements -- which include a prohibition against strikes or lockouts during the bargaining process. Calling a strike, without following each step as required by the Railway Labor Act, would be a violation of Federal Law and would subject each of us and the UTU to devastating Federal Penalties, including having President Bush and his anti-labor pals write a new contract for us with input from the railroads themselves. If you think the railroads want to give us a Contract that is fair to us or that you would like, you just don’t know the 200 year history of the railroad robber barons. The law is so written because of the perceived importance of the railroad industry to the American economy and national defense. Indeed, even in the few instances where rail labor has been allowed to engage in a work stoppage, Congress almost always stepped in promptly with a back to work order -- and often one that was quite detrimental to the rank-and-file. In fact, early during this round of bargaining, which began in 2004, carriers were hoping for a bargaining impasse that would result in the carrier-friendly Bush administration appointing a carrier-friendly Presidential Emergency Board (PEB) and the then carrier-friendly and conservative-controlled Congress imposing on us the recommendations of that anti-labor PEB. The tide began turning in our favor last November with the election of a labor-friendly majority in Congress, but the Bush administration remains in place until Jan. 20, 2009, and is quite ready -- even anxious -- to appoint a carrier-friendly PEB should a bargaining impasse be declared. Moreover, in the past, even a Democratic-controlled Congress has imposed labor-unfriendly back-to-work terms. As one veteran arbitrator said, rail labor should think long and hard before putting its fate in the hands of a third party. As explained in a recent bargaining update written by UTU International President Paul Thompson, President- elect Mike Futhey, and SMART General President Mike Sullivan, the UTU has asked a federal court to order railroads to return to the bargaining table in good faith to address a major sticking point in this round -- entry level rates of pay. We are awaiting court action. This round may well wind up before a Presidential Emergency Board, but any declaration of a bargaining impasse permitting self help must first come from the National Mediation Board. “It remains in our best interests to reach a negotiated settlement with the carriers -- but one this organization can proudly present to members and which will be ratified," Thompson said. “The UTU negotiating team," Thompson said, "is not going to capitulate and accept a concessionary agreement during this period of record carrier earnings; nor is the UTU negotiating team anxious to turn the fate of members over to the anti-labor Bush administration. "Right now, our focus is on a court victory requiring the carriers to return in good faith to the bargaining table to address entry level rates of pay tied to training and other issues important to our membership," Thompson said. For members unfamiliar with the mechanics of the Railway Labor Act, following is a synopsis prepared by the UTU Public Relations Department. The Railway Labor Act is not written to just favor the Railroads. Many items favor the labor organizations. It is supposed to balance the needs of the Federal Government, the Railroads and the Unions. Today, because of the conditions in Washington DC, I feel a little shortchanged. However, tomorrow or if we wait long enough, or next time, the advantage may swing our way. The Railroads know that too. UNDERSTANDING THE RAILWAY LABOR ACT The Railway Labor Act, or RLA, was enacted into law in 1926, following decades of labor unrest, which included widespread and often violent work stoppages that frequently pitted federal soldiers against striking workers. Railroads and their unions jointly drafted the law, whose premise is that arms length negotiations (jaw jaw, not war war promotes more stable labor relations. The RLA was the first federal law guaranteeing the right of workers to organize and join unions and elect representatives without employer coercion or interference. The RLA makes it the duty of all carriers and their employees to exert every reasonable effort to voluntarily settle disputes. . The RLA contains five basic purposes: * To avoid any interruption to commerce. * To ensure an unhindered right of employees to join a labor union (added in 1934). * To provide complete independence of organization by both parties to carry out the purposes of the RLA. * To assist in the prompt and orderly settlement of disputes covering rates of pay, work rules, or working conditions. * To assist in the prompt and orderly settlement of disputes growing out of grievances or out of the interpretation or application of existing contracts covering the rates of pay, work rules or working conditions. Contracts remain in force until changed. There is no time limit by which contracts must be negotiated to avoid a work stoppage. Under Section 6 of the act, either side may propose changes to an existing collective bargaining agreement, but agreements (for purposes of stability and labor peace) generally contain agreed upon moratorium clauses that provide no change may be demanded on specified subjects for a prescribed period of time. Once Section 6 notices, proposing changes to an existing agreement, have been served, the parties must maintain the status quo (no strikes or lockouts or promulgation of changes) until all procedures of the RLA have been fully exhausted. For major disputes over wages, benefits and working conditions, the RLA provides for a three-member National Mediation Board, appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate, with the power to mediate any dispute between carriers and their employees at the request of either party or upon the board's own motion. There is no time limit on the mediation procedure. The NMB controls the schedule of talks and only the NMB may release the parties from mediation. If the NMB is unable to bring about an amicable settlement of the controversy through mediation, the board is required to use its influence to induce the parties voluntarily to submit to binding arbitration. The law is specific in that arbitration is voluntary and not compulsory. If both sides voluntarily agree to binding arbitration, an Arbitration Board of up to six members is to be established. Carriers and labor each select an equal number of arbitrators, who then select the additional member or members. If either labor or management decline voluntary arbitration, and if in the opinion of the NMB the continuance of the controversy threatens substantially to interrupt interstate commerce in any section of the nation, the NMB is required to notify the President of the United States, who may, at his discretion, create a fact-finding Presidential Emergency Board. The parties must maintain the status quo (no strikes or lockouts) for 30 days. If the president chooses not to appoint an emergency board, strikes or lockouts may occur after the 30-day cooling-off period. Emergency boards are comprised of neutral members whose job is to make an investigation and submit to the president, within 30 days of its creation, a fact-finding report with non-binding recommendations for procedures or terms on which a dispute might be settled. During this period, the parties must maintain the status quo (a second 30-day cooling-off period). Upon submission of the PEB report, the parties are required to maintain the status quo for an additional, or third 30-day cooling-off period (they may mutually agree to extend the period of status quo). The non-binding recommendations of the PEB are expected to carry the weight of public opinion and induce a voluntary agreement among the parties. At this point, the RLA has run its course. If no agreement has been reached, either side becomes free to act in its own economic interests -- a work stoppage (or strike) by labor, a lockout by management, or unilateral implementation of management proposals (that generally would force a work stoppage). However, Congress frequently imposes its own settlement. Such congressional action is not part of the RLA. The constitutional authority for Congress to impose its own settlements is found in the Constitution's commerce clause. This message was compiled in part by using facts provided by The United Transportation Union International, and in part by the opinions of Local 194 Vice Local Chairman S T Lynch October 12, 2007 |