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  • Union voting update, 2022 contract

  • For topics on Class I and II passenger and freight operations more general in nature and not specifically related to a specific railroad with its own forum.
For topics on Class I and II passenger and freight operations more general in nature and not specifically related to a specific railroad with its own forum.

Moderator: Jeff Smith

 #1609208  by John_Perkowski
 
As of today, the following unions have voted to reject the draft contract

Brotherhood of Railroad Signalmen
Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employees (Part of Teamsters)

Key dates appear to be November 19 and December 4.

https://www.politico.com/news/2022/10/2 ... n-00063610
 #1609350  by Gilbert B Norman
 
Informative for laymen article appearing in The Times yesterday:

Fair Use:
A dozen men stood in a parking lot outside a dilapidated motel in rural Texas, sharing a fish dinner cooked in a portable fryer. They had spent the previous 12 hours under a pounding sun, repairing track for a major American railroad.

The men were part of a traveling maintenance gang, a largely unseen force that plays a critical role in keeping rail freight rolling. They had driven from five to 13 hours to get here, from homes as far away as Louisiana, Mississippi and Oklahoma.

They were accustomed to the gnawing regrets of life on the road, regularly missing wedding anniversaries, children’s birthday parties and even the deaths of parents. They were used to cramming into motel rooms infested with bedbugs and rodents, working through bone-cold blizzards and punishing summer heat.

They were also conditioned to laboring when ill, because their union contract — which is now expired — included no short-term paid sick leave. Demands for paid sick leave had become the primary point of contention in negotiations over a new contract, the issue that threatened to prompt a strike by more than 100,000 rail workers.
Again, I must take issue with the reporter's statement that the contract has expired. We of course around here all know an agreement collectively bargained under the Railway Labor Act never expires. The organization in question, BMWE, as well as the BRS, served Section 6 Notice under the Act, but at this time, the provisions for orderly negotiations have been exhausted, meaning the employees covered by these agreements are free to exercise "self-help", or otherwise in the vernacular, strike.
 #1609355  by eolesen
 
If the motels are so bad, maybe they should go back to camp cars...

Sent from my SM-G981U using Tapatalk

 #1609391  by justalurker66
 
eolesen wrote: Sun Oct 30, 2022 11:11 amIf the motels are so bad, maybe they should go back to camp cars...
All of the complaints should be part of the negotiations. If an issue was not raised during the negotiation then now is not the time for the rank and file to refuse to accept the deal that their appointed representatives agreed to accept.
Gilbert B Norman wrote:Informative for laymen article . . .

Again, I must take issue with the reporter's statement that the contract has expired.
"For laymen" one should expect an article not to get into complicated legalese. But "expired" is a fair description of a contract that has passed its end date. Once the new contract is ratified it will take effect retroactively back to the end of the old contract.

And then (hopefully) the railroads and unions can start working on the next contract ... and include the quality of life issues that have not yet been resolved.
 #1609410  by Gilbert B Norman
 
Mr. Lurker, any railroad labor agreement I know of leaves the lodging matter quite vague. The agreements call for "suitable lodging" which means management and, likely, the Local Chairman have come together and decide "this place is; that place ain't".

We have members here at the site who have all but directly said they are in the airline industry. Here the matter, considering how much larger the airline industry is over the railroad, is magnified many times over same. So sometimes I must wonder when I learn that Officers get to stay at one hotel: Attendants at another. Guess who gets the better of the lot!!

Two factors come into play. There is the distinction dating from as long as there have been armed forces on this planet that officers and men live separately. But then back on the airlines, isn't an Attendant entitled to conditions that will have one as fit for duty as an Officer? Apply this now to railroads; aren't employees entitled to a night sleep so they are fit for duty next morning? Awful lot of ways in the MOW crafts to get hurt - big time.

I would think as a minimum, no employee should be directed to stay in anything less than a major brand "two star" (Comfort, Sleep, Red Roof, et al) and ideally a three star (Hampton, Express, Fairfield). At three stars - the level at which I personally stay for an overnight - I have noted workers within the utilities, construction, and, yes, railroads.

Finally Mr. Lurker, I realize that three years of my eleven-year railroad career was spent in Labor Relations, so yes, I do have knowledge about the duration of railroad labor agreements. I respect your noting that the, I like to think, above average intelligence of a New York Times reader has, still measures labor disputes by the picket sign "no contract, no work". But still I think The Times' reporter should have used language to the effect of "for which the means to resolve the issues by mediation have been exhausted".
 #1609465  by ExCon90
 
Gilbert B Norman wrote: Mon Oct 31, 2022 7:09 am We have members here at the site who have all but directly said they are in the airline industry. Here the matter, considering how much larger the airline industry is over the railroad, is magnified many times over same. So sometimes I must wonder when I learn that Officers get to stay at one hotel: Attendants at another. Guess who gets the better of the lot!!
Particularly since companies today don't seem to have employees any more; everybody is an "associate" or a "team member." However, traditional differences persist; in the Soviet Union everybody was addressed as "comrade," but they still had to jump to it if addressed by a "comrade" who was more equal than the others. When I was in the service the army's watchword was Rank Has Its Privileges; the initials usually sufficed to convey the meaning.
 #1609484  by eolesen
 
Gilbert B Norman wrote: Mon Oct 31, 2022 7:09 am So sometimes I must wonder when I learn that Officers get to stay at one hotel: Attendants at another. Guess who gets the better of the lot!!
I'm sure it happens, but my experience has been that the same hotel get used for all of the crew (except perhaps in some of the biggest cities) so that the crew can move to/from the airport as a group.

For one of the cases I know of where the FA's and pilots had different hotels, it was to be closer to the shopping district... I'll let you guess which group chose that.
 #1609488  by justalurker66
 
Gilbert B Norman wrote: Mon Oct 31, 2022 7:09 amI would think as a minimum, no employee should be directed to stay in anything less than a major brand "two star" (Comfort, Sleep, Red Roof, et al) and ideally a three star (Hampton, Express, Fairfield). At three stars - the level at which I personally stay for an overnight - I have noted workers within the utilities, construction, and, yes, railroads.
I usually shoot for three stars but in some areas of the country two and a half is all that is available. I rarely take a two star. (I stayed at a 2 1/2 a couple of nights ago that had a better pool and breakfast than the 3 star I stayed at the night before.)

The hotels are chosen for the convenience of the railroad. I expect MOW to get a better deal since their need for a hotel is usually better planned. They generally have their own transportation to the hotel (work trucks). I have parked near a Sperry vehicle once. Train crew that die on the law lead to someone finding a room on short notice at a hotel likely to have open rooms available. Transportation to the hotel must be provided and transportation back to work must be provided whenever that crew is needed again. Travel time affects HOS so close to the railroad is a goal.

As we have read, airline employees make a big deal out of their lodging and "adequate housing" is better defined. They also end up needing a hotel at an airport where there is usually a wide selection to choose from. I have spent a few nights at airport hotels and seen flight crews in my hotel. Most airport hotels have shuttle services to the airport so there is no issue of getting the employee from their last job and to their next job. It is a different scenario.

If "adequate housing" is important then "adequate" needs to be better defined by the railroad employees and their unions. If time off is important then that issue needs to be raised and negotiated. The TA agreed to by the unions (but not their membership) includes a concession for scheduling medical appointments. While the restrictions are ridiculous, the unions note that any concession is a break through in an area the railroads have previously declared "not a contract issue".

If it is important to the rank and file it NEEDS to be a contract issue. Whether it is adequate housing, flexible time off or any other topic.
 #1609507  by Gilbert B Norman
 
eolesen wrote: Mon Oct 31, 2022 10:00 pm I'm sure it happens, but my experience has been that the same hotel get used for all of the crew (except perhaps in some of the biggest cities) so that the crew can move to/from the airport as a group.

For one of the cases I know of where the FA's and pilots had different hotels, it was to be closer to the shopping district... I'll let you guess which group chose that.
Mr. Olesen, not the case in Munich with "my airline of choice".

Officers went downtown to a four star major brand; Attendants, presumably to a three, on the perimeter. "Dinner" apparently was what they bought at a Deli counter within MUC/EDDM. "Right this way your table's waiting" was someone's bed.

The gal sharing this with me is a "gal pal" with the FA I know "off the planes". I have also had clients - Officers and Attendants (one case: married to one another) - when I was in practice.

I have a wonderful Mozart Music Box (Eine kleine Nachtmusik) my FA friend brought me from Munich.
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