Rail & Labor News from RWU
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Weekly Digest Number 44 - October 29th, 2024 | |
Welcome to the RWU Rail & Labor News! This news bulletin is produced and emailed out each Tuesday morning. We hope you find each week's news and information useful. If so, please share with co-workers, friends, and colleagues. If you like, you can sign them up to get all the news from RWU HERE. Or forward them the link. Got a hot tip? Please forward the article and a link to raillabornews@gmail.com. Note: If you read over this news bulletin each week, you will be sure to never miss the important news of what is going on in the railroad world from a worker's perspective! | |
THIS WEEK'S RAIL AND LABOR NEWS | |
Editor's Note: STB Chairman Robert E. Primus isn’t mincing words: the rail industry has missed its shot at growth, thanks to the gospel of Precision Scheduled Railroading (PSR). Sold as the secret to efficiency, PSR has meant service cuts and cost-squeezing, leaving shippers disillusioned and more inclined to truck freight than to deal with rail’s broken promises. Once, rail was the backbone of American industry; today, it’s losing to highways that clog and pollute while intermodal freight, once rail’s future, fades into the past. As Mike Seyfert, CEO of the National Feed and Grain Association, put it at the STB hearing, “If you’re not reliable, don’t expect to grow.” The message is clear: either the rail industry gets back to serving the public, or it may find itself sidelined, just a shadow of what it once was. | |
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North America’s remaining six major freight railroads appear to be committing slow motion suicide, according to testimony offered by rail customers, industry analysts and labor to regulators on the Surface Transportation Board (STB) at two days of public hearings held last month.
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 |  | STB Chairman Robert E. Primus contended that the industry’s growth has not measured up to all of the opportunities that were presented to it over the past seven years, after Wall Street activist investors ignited the fad of Precision Scheduled Railroading (PSR), an operations model sold to investors as a Holy Grail by prioritizing squeezing out costs over growing the business, and which has persisted since gaining widespread acceptance among investors in 2017. In the 19th Century the railroads created a foundation for the growth of America’s modern industrial economy. But today shippers are turning to trucking to serve their freight transportation needs every chance they get so they can avoid subjecting themselves to the unreliable service and rate gouging dealt out by rail lines. As a result, even in economic good times, railroad traffic has not kept up with the growth of the rest of the economy, the manufacturing industry, exports and imports and its main competitor - trucking. Both Primus and shipper witnesses pointed out that intermodal service, once widely recognized as the future of the railroad industry, has declined along with the steady decline in service reliability, and the result has driven freight onto the highways, which also drives up logistics costs while contributing even more to air pollution. “If you’re not reliable and you can’t provide service and you’re not competitive, you’re not going to have growth,” argued Mike Seyfert, CEO of the National Feed and Grain Association, at the STB hearing.
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Editor's Note: Rail workers find themselves in a whirlwind of fragmented bargaining, as rail unions and Class One carriers have abandoned national negotiations for on-property deals. Many tentative agreements are already on the table-— some approved, some rejected, and others yet to be decided. The recent rejection by SMART-TD members at CSX, by a more than 4-to-1 margin, speaks volumes. To help workers make sense of this piecemeal approach, Railroad Workers United (RWU) has compiled a property-by -property, union-by-union bargaining tracker. While RWU stands firmly against this divide-and-conquer strategy that erodes solidarity, this tool aims to empower every rail worker with knowledge about what’s unfolding. | |
As railroad workers are aware, the rail unions and the Class One rail carriers have decided to dispense with national handling this round of bargaining and instead have opted to proceed with "on-property" bargaining. And long before the traditional exchange of "Section 6" Notices on November 1st, many have reached Tentative Agreement. Some of these are in the process of being voted on by the rank and file, while others have been approved, others rejected by the membership (the most dramatic of which came the week of October 21st when SMART-TD members at CSX voted overwhelmingly to oppose the TA by a 4-to-1 margin). In order for all rail workers to get a clearer sense of just what the hell is going on with all of these potential contracts (potentially 6 major rail carriers with potentially 12 or 13 different rail unions), Railroad Workers United (RWU) has set up a spreadsheet which notes which unions have engaged with which carriers and the current state of bargaining, property-by-property, union-by-union. RWU of course is opposed to this piecemeal approach as it has undermined our support for a universal bargaining coalition, divides-and-conquers rail labor, and atomizes us even further, preventing unity and solidarity among all rail workers. That said, it is important for rail workers to get a better handle on just what is going on out there. We hope this spreadsheet is useful to you! | |
Editor's Note: Speaking of contracts (see above article and spreadsheet), see the latest alphabet soup of disparate Tentative Agreements reached in recent days among the myriad rail unions on the nation's Class One railroads. | |
Various Unions Continue to Reach Separate Agreements Union-by-Union, Carrier-by-Carrier | |
Editor's Note: As reported last week in an RWU Special Bulletin, OSHA will conduct this important meeting that we urge all rail workers to attend. The rail industry has a disproportionate number of employee whistleblowers who appeal to the Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) for relief from employer reprisal for reporting injuries and/or dangerous working conditions. It is great to see that OSHA will be hosting this meeting to hear stakeholder input on protections and safety concerns in the rail industry. All railroad workers who have had first-hand experience on this front are encouraged to submit public comment and to attend the hearing. | |
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WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration will hold an online meeting Oct. 29, 2024, with the Federal Railroad Administration participating, to hear stakeholder input on whistleblower protections and safety concerns workers in the railroad industry face.
Open to the public, the meeting will be held from 1 to 4 p.m. EDT and be offered in English and Spanish. Individuals interested in joining the meeting or making an oral presentation must register in English or in Spanish by Oct. 22, 2024. There is no cost to register.
Public comments may also be submitted online through the Federal eRulemaking Portal using Docket Number OSHA-2024-0007. The deadline for written submissions is Nov. 11, 2024. Further information can be found in the official memorandum. Learn more about OSHA’s Whistleblower Protection Program.
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Editor's Note: Editor's Note: Once again this week, the real news here is not so much that total freight traffic on U.S. railroads is up as much as the fact that carload traffic continues to be in the toilet, off nearly 5% year-over-year in Week 42. | |
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U.S. freight-rail traffic rose 1.1% to 510,730 carloads and intermodal units in the week ending Oct. 19 compared with traffic results in the same week in 2023, according to Association of American Railroads data. Railroads hauled 223,278 carloads during the week, a 4.6% decrease, and 287,452 containers and trailers, a 6% increase.
Five of the 10 carload commodities that AAR tracks every week logged an increase during the week. Gainers included grain, up 15% to 23,372 carloads; miscellaneous, up 11.3% to 9,992; and farm products excluding grain, and food, up 5.2% to 18,082.Commodity groups that posted decreases included coal, down 12.4% to 58,350 carloads; nonmetallic minerals, down 11.1% to 30,281; and metallic ores and metals, down 15.8% to 18,884.
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Editor's Note: While he has been lambasted by corporate hacks like Frank Wilner, former STB Chair Marty Oberman has had the unmitigated audacity (as a retiree from public life) to dare voice his opinion on political matters, brazenly stating that rail workers should support an administration that would be more favorable to rail worker interest. How dare he?! This hypocracy is asking to the Class Ones stating their desire to keep government out of rail affairs ... until they plea for Congress and White House intervention to break rail strikes. Same BS. | |
| |  | As the recently retired Chairman of the Surface Transportation Board, I’m writing to urge your participation in the 2024 election. My experience taught me that the protections of rail workers by the STB and by the FRA depends a lot on whether these important offices are filled by worker-oriented administrations. A few key points show why this is true. Before I joined the STB more than five years ago, rail labor viewed the STB as indifferent to rail worker interests at best, and hostile at worst. Back then, the Class Is were implementing PSR and dramatically cutting employment — ultimately eliminating nearly 45,000 good rail jobs. But under prior Republican-led STBs, these practices were allowed to flourish. That changed in my time as chair. For those that don’t know the STB is an independent federal agency responsible for overseeing the economic regulation of different types of surface transportation, with a strong focus on freight rail. The STB uses its authority to address disputes and promote a transportation system that serves the needs of everyone involved, including SMART-TD members.
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Editor's Note: Great to see a North American union come out vociferously in support of passenger train prioritization. The way the private Class One carriers handle passenger trains is an international disgrace. All rail unions should be condemning the way the private rail system handles passenger trains. Better yet, they should ALL be supporting Public Rail Ownership. | |
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OTTAWA, Ontario — Unifor, Canadian’s largest private-sector union, is calling on Canadian National Railways to prioritize passenger operations — and for more government oversight of the relationship between freight and passenger service — in the wake of restrictions CN has placed on VIA Rail Canada corridor trains in Ontario and Quebec.“This is about CN stepping up to fulfil its obligations to all rail users,” Unifor National President Lana Payne said in a press release. “Passenger rail must be prioritized to ensure that services like VIA Rail can operate safely and efficiently.” VIA does not have the statutory right of preference created in the U.S. for Amtrak trains (although Amtrak argues that preference is often not observed, as indicated in a current Surface Transportation Board proceeding over the Sunset Limited and a Justice Department suit against Norfolk Southern). Given minimal government oversight, Unifor says CN has a duty to work more effectively with passenger operators.
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Editor's Note: Surprise, surprise. NOT. When the spotlight is on the rail industry, they talk about hiring, filling vacacies, filling extra boards and providing good service. Then it is back to the same old same old, ut cut cut and end up short-staffed as ever. | |
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Class Is employed 120,399 workers the United States in September, a 0.18% decrease compared to August's employment level and a 1.69% decline year over year, according to Surface Transportation Board data. All but one of the job categories posted month-to-month decreases. Only maintenance of equipment and stores added employees, with a 0.13% increase to 17,105.
Job categories that logged decreases were executives and staff assistants, down 0.56% to 7,858 workers; professional and administrative, down 0.4% to 9,729; maintenance of way and structures, -0.21% to 28,923; transportation (train and engine), -0.17% to 51,757; and transportation (other than train and engine), -0.04% to 5,027. Year over year, two categories were gainers: transportation (other than train and engine) rose 2.17%, while maintenance of way and structures inched up 0.1%.
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Editor's Note: SEPTA workers in Philadelphia have drawn their line in the sand. The Transport Workers Union Local 234, representing over 5,300 employees, has authorized a strike if no agreement is reached by November 7. This decision comes on the heels of honoring Bernard Gribben, whose death a year ago still echoes unanswered questions and unaddressed demands. With unity and resolve, these workers are prepared to stand firm for the safety and respect they deserve. | |
SEPTA workers have voted unanimously to strike unless they can reach a settlement with management by midnight, Nov. 7, 2024
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SEPTA workers in the Transport Workers Union Local 234 -- which represents more than 5,300 employees -- announced on Sunday morning that it has authorized a strike, unless they can reach a deal with management by midnight on Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024. In a statement released around lunchtime on Sunday, union officials said that a "large gathering" of workers met for a special meeting and all in attendance voted to authorize the strike. “Yesterday, many of us gathered at Midvale Depot to honor the one-year anniversary of the murder of Bernard Gribben," said TWU President Brian Pollitt, who heads the union’s negotiating committee said, "Because too little has changed in the year since his untimely death, I have been forced to gather us here today to ask you to give me the authority to call a strike, if the Executive Board deems it necessary to achieve our objectives.”
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Editor's Note: While much of the world including "arch rival" China forge ahead with publicly owned rail systems, multiple tracking, electrification, new routes and gradients, and record-breaking tonnage moved, the North American rail industry - held privately and subject to stockholder interests - does none of the above. In fact, in 2023, U.S. Class One railroads moved 24% less freight than in 2006. As Chinese rail freight takes off and sets records, the U.S. rail system continues to lose carload traffic and become less and less of the solution. Time for public ownership of the rail network in North America? | |
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China’s drive to get more volumes onto rail tracks continues to pay dividends, with China State Railway Group (CSRG) having handled a record-breaking 1bn tonnes in Q3. CSRG reported a 3.8% year-on-year uptick in total rail freight volumes over the three months to October including around 9.6m teu of containerised cargo, 17.3% more than in the same period in 2023. The strong growth in boxed trade comes on the back of a strong push for modal shift by the state. Huang Jiangnan , director of the Qinzhou Port East Railway Station, of the Coastal Railway Co, said the operator had been working particularly hard “to facilitate the integrated and efficient operation of the sea-rail intermodal transportation”. “Meanwhile, we’ve collaborated with customs authorities to continuously optimise operation links, reducing the average time spent inspecting a single container from 10 minutes to seven minutes,” he added.
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Editor's Note: RWU is an affiliate organization of RUN and will have a representative present. All rail workers and rail unions are encouraged to join and take part as well! | |
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The conference is designed not only for rail advocates, but also for civic and business leaders, environmentalists, planners, real estate developers and members of the general public who are interested in knowing more about passenger rail and rail transit in America. Please note this is a free event for RUN members, but registration is required. A registration fee for non-members is $25, which includes RUN membership through 2025.Please be sure to register by November 12 so that we can send along the info needed to attend RUN’s Virtual Spring Conference.
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NEWS FROM AROUND THE LABOR MOVEMENT | |
Each week, RWU includes a few articles about advances and developments in the larger labor movement that are of interest to railroad workers. Got an artcile to submit for possible inclusion next week? Email it along to raillabornews@gmail.com. Thank you! | |
Editor's Note: Railroad Workers United does not take political positions in support of this or that candidate. We see the political system as currently constituted as in general ant-worker and pro-corporate/wealthy. That said, we are happy to present objective facts about the candidates and their positions/history with regard to working people/labor/unions. | |
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Many people failed to realize that Donald Trump has a long, ugly history of making anti-worker and anti-union statements. He has at times insulted workers, saying their wages are too high, saying their work is so easy that a child can do it. The former US president has also sought to sabotage labor by saying union members shouldn’t pay their dues and successful union leaders should be fired. Trump has also sought to trick workers by making wonderful-sounding promises that he couldn’t possibly make good on.
Below are Trump’s 10 most shocking anti-worker and anti-union statements:
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Trump actually said that the wages of US workers are “too high”. He insulted the nation’s workers by insisting their pay is too high because from Trump’s billionaire, pro-business viewpoint, that makes it too hard for US companies to compete. Trump said that workers’ pay was too high even though corporate profits and the stock market were booming at the time.
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Editor's Note: Corporate power has never been more brazen. The 1935 labor law, once a shield for working people, is under attack, labeled “unconstitutional” by those who profit from weakening unions. With Texas courts blocking the NLRB, anti-labor forces are clearing a path straight to a Supreme Court eager to serve corporate interests over workers’ rights. | |
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The foundational 1935 labor law protecting workers is unconstitutional, according to major corporations and right-wing zealots who believe they have enough votes on the Supreme Court to overturn it. In the latest sign that anti-union forces will doggedly press the matter, a federal judge for the Northern District of Texas enjoined the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) from processing any allegations of employer violations of workers’ rights. The National Review hailed the decision as “A Welcome Blow to the NLRB.”This is after Elon Musk’s SpaceX won a similar injunction against the NLRB before the Western District of Texas in July. Both cases will work their way up to the Fifth Circuit Court, which has served as an expressway to steer anti-regulatory legal appeals to the Supreme Court ever since Trump packed it with right-wing ideologues.
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Editor's Note: Like their counterparts in rail in 2022, Machinists have rejected the contract terms served up by the union officialdom. More and more workers in various industries are laying down the gauntlet and saying "enough is enough!" Time for good contracts that keep pace with inflation and make for BETTER working conditions. We are fed up with the stus quo! | |
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IAM District 751 and W24 Machinists voted by 64% to reject the contract and continue to strike
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SEATTLE, WA (October 24, 2024) — “It wasn’t enough for our members,” said Jon Holden, President of IAM District 751 announcing Wednesday evening that Machinists voted to reject the latest contract proposal and continue to strike Boeing. The workers rejected the contract by 64%, with the vote consistent across job sites, per the union.After years of deep cuts to benefits, wage stagnation, and company disrespect, Machinists are sticking together for a stronger contract. “There are consequences when a company mistreats its workers year after year,” said Holden and Brandon Bryant, President of IAM District W24 in a joint statement. “Workers across America know what it’s like for a company to take and take – and Boeing workers are saying they are fully and strongly committed to balancing that out by winning back more of what was taken from them by the company for more than a decade.”
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WEEKLY DERAILMENT DEPARTMENT | |
Each Tuesday in this news bulletin, RWU does our best to present a picture of what has been happening over the course of the previous week in terms of derailments in North America, and investigation determinations of previous accidents. NOTE: This list is by no means comprehensive. Smaller and less consequential mishaps are generally not reported here. If the wreck results in injury or fatality, or is especially damaging/extreme, a full article will appear as a feature in the dozen or so rail articles above. Know of a train wreck? Please feel free to forward a link to raillabornews@gmail.com for possible inclusion next week. Thanks! |
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