Largest US Rail Union Votes Against Contract, Raising Strike Risk
Newsmax
Monday, 21 November 2022 03:16 PM EST
https://www.newsmax.com/newsfront/rail/2022/11/21/id/1097384/
Workers at the
largest U.S. rail union voted against a tentative contract deal reached in
September, raising the possibility of a year-end strike that could cause
significant damage to the U.S. economy and strand vital shipments of food and
fuel.
Train and engine
service members of the transportation division of the International Association
of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail, and Transportation Workers (SMART-TD) narrowly voted
to reject the deal. That unit, which includes conductors, brakemen and other
workers, joins three other unions in rejecting a deal brokered via a board
appointed by U.S. President Joe Biden.
"There's a
lot of anger about paid sick leave among the membership" who kept goods
flowing during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, said Seth Harris, a
professor at Northeastern University.
Railroads have
slashed labor and other costs to bolster profits and are fiercely opposed to
adding sick time flexibility that would require them to hire more staff. Those
operators, which include Union Pacific, Berkshire Hathaway Inc's BNSF and CSX, say the contract deal has the most generous wage package in almost 50
years of national rail negotiations.
"The union
needs to get this done in advance of the new Congress as their involvement will
unlikely result in 'better' for them," said Reliant Labor Consultants
principal Joe Brock, a former Teamsters local president.
Republicans, who
historically favor corporations over unions, earlier this month won control of
the U.S. House starting in January.
"I see a
minimal improvement in sick pay, and huge pressure from the (Biden)
administration to accept a deal," Brock said.
But railroads are
also under pressure to wrap up talks. Major U.S. industry groups complain that
rail industry cost cuts have hurt service. On Monday, several renewed calls for
Biden and Congress to swiftly intervene to prevent a strike or employer lockout
ahead of the holiday season.
A White House
official said "a shutdown is unacceptable because of the harm it would
inflict on jobs, families, farms, businesses and communities across the
country," adding that it would be best for unions and railroads to resolve
their differences.
CAN BE SETTLED
'WITHOUT A STRIKE'
A rail traffic
stoppage could freeze almost 30% of U.S. cargo shipments by weight, stoke
inflation and cost the American economy as much as $2 billion per day by
unleashing a cascade of transport woes affecting U.S. energy, agriculture,
manufacturing, healthcare and retail sectors.
Last week, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce said Congress should step in to prevent any disruption, warning it
would be catastrophic for the economy. Automaker General Motors has said a halt would force it to stop production of some trucks within
about a day.
Labor unions have
criticized the railroads’ sick leave and attendance policies and the lack of
paid sick days for short-term illness.
"This can
all be settled through negotiations and without a strike," SMART-TD
President Jeremy Ferguson said in a statement.
The National
Carriers' Conference Committee (NCCC), which represents the nation's freight
railroads in talks, said the "continued, near-term threat" of a
strike "will require that freight railroads and passenger carriers soon
begin to take responsible steps to safely secure the network in advance of any
deadline."
The railroads
showed no sign of being willing to reopen talks and said, "Congress may
need to intervene, just as it has in the past, to prevent disruption of the
national rail system."
The standoff
between U.S. railroad operators and their union workers in September disrupted
flows of hazardous materials such as chemicals used in fertilizer and disrupted
U.S. passenger railroad Amtrak service as railroads prepared for a possible
work stoppage.
Unions, including
a separately contracted unit covering more than 1,000 SMART-TD yardmasters,
have ratified nine of 13 agreements covering about half of the 115,000 workers
affected by the talks.
The deal includes
a 24% compounded wage increase over a five-year period from 2020 through 2024
and five annual $1,000 lump sum payments.
Three other
unions that rejected the deal have already agreed to extend a strike deadline
until early December.
Beginning on Dec.
9, SMART-TD would be allowed to go on strike or the rail carriers would be
permitted to lock out workers, unless Congress intervenes.
If there is a
strike by any of the unions that voted against the deal, Brotherhood of
Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET) and other rail unions that have
ratified agreements have pledged to honor picket lines.
The Biden
administration helped avert a service cutoff by hosting last-minute contract
talks in September at the Labor
Department that led to a tentative contract deal.
Connecting the Dots:
CSX
Transportation is a subsidiary of the CSX Corporation.
American
rail freight system is a Class 1 railroad for CSX
Transportation.
Carter G.
Phillips was an attorney for CSX Transportation and is a
partner at Sidley Austin LLP.
D. Cameron Findlay was
a partner at Sidley Austin LLP and the deputy secretary for
the U.S. Department of Labor.
Michelle Obama was
a lawyer at Sidley Austin LLP.
Barack Obama was
an intern at Sidley Austin LLP.
Sidley Austin
LLP was the lobby firm for General Motors.
Cameron F. Kerry is
a senior counsel at Sidley Austin LLP, John F. Kerry’s brother
and a fellow at the Brookings Institution (think tank).
John F. Kerry is Cameron
F. Kerry’s brother and married to Teresa Heinz Kerry.
Teresa Heinz
Kerry is married to John F. Kerry, and an honorary trustee
at the Brookings Institution (think tank).
Foundation to Promote Open Society was a funder for the Brookings
Institution (think tank).
George Soros was the chairman for the Foundation to Promote Open
Society.
James W. Cicconi
is an honorary trustee at the Brookings Institution (think tank)
and a director at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
Richard C. Blum is
an honorary trustee at the Brookings Institution (think tank),
married to Democratic Senator Dianne Feinstein and was the chairman
for the CBRE Group, Inc.
Laura D'Andrea
Tyson is a director at the CBRE Group, Inc. and was a
trustee at the Brookings Institution (think tank).
Albert DiClemente was
the VP for the CBRE Group, Inc. and is a director at Amtrak.
Resources: Past
Research
Researcher’s Note:
Again I ask the question was this an accident or premeditated? (Past Research on the Railroad)
SUNDAY, FEBRUARY
4, 2018
https://thesteadydrip.blogspot.com/2018/02/researchers-note-again-i-ask-question.html
Michelle Obama to Host
New GM CEO, Dem Donor Mary Barra at SOTU (Past
research on General Motors)
WEDNESDAY,
JANUARY 29, 2014
https://thesteadydrip.blogspot.com/2014/01/michelle-obama-to-host-new-gm-ceo-dem.html
Chamber of Commerce to
Spend $50 Million to Crush Tea Party (Past Research
on the U.S. Chamber of Commerce)
THURSDAY,
DECEMBER 26, 2013
https://thesteadydrip.blogspot.com/2013/12/chamber-of-commerce-to-spend-50-million.html
94,391,000 Americans
Out of the Labor Force in August (Past Research on
the U.S. Department of Labor)
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER
2, 2016
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