General Category > Economy/Business
Railroad strike looms over holidays after major union rejects deal
Wingnut:
Joe can just Nationalize the Railroads via Executive order. He has Obama's pen and phone after all.
mystery-ak:
November 22, 2022 12:59pm EST
Rail union strike would create a ‘crippling’ economy, industry official warns
Association of American Railroads CEO says Congress may need to ‘step in’
By Kristen Altus FOXBusiness
After a fourth U.S. railroad union rejected an agreement with their employers brokered by the Biden administration - and reignited fears of a nationwide rail worker strike - one spokesman for the rail companies claimed they’re "ready, willing and able" to reach new negotiations.
"We need to keep the network moving. We need to keep the economy moving," Association of American Railroads (AAR) President and CEO Ian Jeffries said on "Varney & Co." Tuesday. "And so that's why we stand ready, willing and able to reach new voluntary agreements. And absent that, we believe Congress might need to be ready to step in as it historically has."
Jeffries’ comments come just after a fourth rail union rejected a tentative agreement with the nation's major freight railroads, raising the prospects of a nationwide strike that could kneecap the economy in the middle of the holiday season.
Members of the Transportation Division of the International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail, and Transportation Workers (SMART-TD), representing more than 28,000 workers, issued a split decision in the vote count announced Monday. Yardmasters represented by SMART-TD voted to ratify their contract, but a smaller group of some 1,300 train and engine service members voted against their separate contract.
more
https://www.foxbusiness.com/politics/rail-union-strike-create-crippling-economy-industry-official-warns
berdie:
I thought this was all settled. Call me a skeptic, but the timing of this, after the midterms is suspicious.
Fishrrman:
What the article doesn't say:
The "SMART-TD" union seems to have come about after I retired. Before then, the conductors/brakemen were [mostly] represented by the "UTU" (United Transportation Union).
Engineers were always [mostly] represented by the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers (BLE), now the BLET (they added "trainmen", who are free to join either union).
I'll guess it's mostly the conductors/trainmen who voted against the proposal.
They actually have good reason to do so, because of the draconian disciplinary policies that "demerit" those who need a day off (you can get tired of working 13, 14, 15 days -- or more -- straight, with 8-12 hours at home before you're called for the next job).
My guess is that the Congress will be obliged to exercise its authority under the Railway Labor Act (of 1926) and impose "a settlement".
That could be either the existing proposal, or they could even modify it (and pass as U.S. law) if they wanted to.
The dem-communist Congress isn't very happy about this, as they want to be viewed as "pro-labor", and imposing a settlement won't be viewed as being very "pro-" by the unions.
What the Congress COULD do (but probably won't):
Mandate the existing agreement proposal but insert into it language that mandates a specific amount of "time off" after days worked.
I reckon that after every 7 days on the job, a T&E employee ought to have the demand right to "mark off" for a period of 48 hours (after which he would be automatically "marked back up" for service.
2 days after 7 worked.
Does that sound unreasonable to you?
Fishrrman:
My comments here (in the other thread):
https://www.gopbriefingroom.com/index.php/topic,485441.msg2744451.html#msg2744451
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