SEPTA Regional Rail on Strike - 6/14 - PEB to Mediate

MACTRAXX wrote:What could happen in PA is that the GOP-controlled legislature could impose a NYS-type "Taylor Law" on public workers that has a
penalty of loss of two days pay for each day out on strike...

"Taylor Law" might work on the TWU workers but it would have absolutely no effect on the Locomotive Engineers on SEPTA's Railroad Division as they're covered by the "Railway Labor Act" which trumps such laws as "Taylor" and "Right to Work" so good luck with that...

I wonder what the legality would be of the Pa legislature passing such law. People who are employed by SEPTA are not legally government employees. In NYC the transit workers are.

Can the legislature tell the private sector they cannot strike?

lefty wrote:I wonder what the legality would be of the Pa legislature passing such law. People who are employed by SEPTA are not legally government employees. In NYC the transit workers are.

Can the legislature tell the private sector they cannot strike?

I sincerely hope it doesn't come to that. But I also believe that there will be a strike and it will be a long one. And I REALLY hope I'm wrong.

a strike is coming, you can bet on it. at this point i'm just hoping it's not much more than a week.

jtaeffner wrote:a strike is coming, you can bet on it. at this point i'm just hoping it's not much more than a week.

Do you think the suburban bus/trolley workers will strike too?

lefty wrote:I wonder what the legality would be of the Pa legislature passing such law. People who are employed by SEPTA are not legally government employees. In NYC the transit workers are.

Can the legislature tell the private sector they cannot strike?

id think that as long as the state pays the bills they can dictate policies. thats how it goes with the feds. its not like septa is private sector where the union is fighting over the conpanys profits

Clearfield wrote:But I also believe that there will be a strike and it will be a long one. And I REALLY hope I'm wrong.

As in how long...more than a week? Are you talking MONTHS...like the Regional Rail strike of 1983?

SubwayTim wrote:

Clearfield wrote:But I also believe that there will be a strike and it will be a long one. And I REALLY hope I'm wrong.

As in how long...more than a week? Are you talking MONTHS...like the Regional Rail strike of 1983?

Wish I had a crystal ball. 234 got a sweet deal during the depths of the recession. Published reports say they want 5% per year for 2 years which IMHO is unrealistic.

They may strike when the other unions other than the RRD contracts come up in April.

OR

They could wait until the RRD engineers are permitted to strike after all of the federal obstacles are out of the way and (if the BLET goes out) shut the entire system down. That move would cost the region billions of dollars and attract new attention to labor laws in a largely Republican dominated US Congress and PA House.

We know that local 234 leadership mean what they say, and the national head of TWU is Harry Lombardo who used to lead 234.

As I've said here before I sincerely hope there isn't a strike by any union but there is a potential for a real s**tstorm here if cooler heads don't prevail.

Just my 2 cents.

When is the 240 days up for the BLET ?

nomis wrote:When is the 240 days up for the BLET ?

What's a BLET? I just wikied "blet" and came up with one listing (Blet is a village in central France).

motor

motor wrote:

nomis wrote:When is the 240 days up for the BLET ?

What's a BLET? I just wikied "blet" and came up with one listing (Blet is a village in central France).

motor

http://lmgtfy.com/?q=blet" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

While it would likely put them in a fantastic position for bargaining this time, with the threat of legislation banning their right to strike, I think they'd be mad to want to bring the whole system to a halt. If it were to happen, I think you'd probably have a unanimous support for such a bill.

If they [unions] threaten to strike, they are interfering with commerce with threat. 18 USC 1951.

nomis wrote:

motor wrote:

nomis wrote:When is the 240 days up for the BLET ?

What's a BLET? I just wikied "blet" and came up with one listing (Blet is a village in central France).

motor

http://lmgtfy.com/?q=blet" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen. Gotcha.

Full(er) disclosure.,. I thought BLET was an abbreviation for a type of labor agreement (or clause of a labor agreement). Seriously.

Thanks, nomis.

motor

R36 Combine Coach wrote:If they [unions] threaten to strike, they are interfering with commerce with threat. 18 USC 1951.

No. This law does not apply. This law clearly only applies to "articles or commodities." People are neither. Considering people to be "articles or commodities" would be equivalent to "human trafficking" which is illegal. However, the article does cover "physical harm" to people. Unless 234 goes out and starts physically beating commuters at rail stations, this is irrelevant.

There still is time to vote R3 Passenger for Emperor...

Edit: Look for clarification to the application of this law on your own time in the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) if you are curious.