Potential for a Commuter Rail Workers Strike

https://www.wbur.org/news/2024/03/01/ke ... -agreement

Flaherty told the board, describing his colleagues as paid 12% less than Amtrak workers, 16% less than workers at Metro North, and 11% less than workers at New Jersey Transit.

The article also implies that Commuter Rail workers are jealous of the MBTA transit workers' contract.
How does CR pay compare to similar jobs in private industry? If pay is so bad, why haven't all the employees left?


https://www.twu.org/battle-in-boston/

TWU Local 2054 President Ed Flaherty warned the MBTA board today that commuter rail workers will strike if and when the National Mediation Board releases them.

The MBTA’s private contractor operating the system, greedy French conglomerate Keolis, pays wages so low rookie train cleaners are eligible for food stamps, Flaherty said at the MTBA board meeting.

Soooo, when? This is dramatic that they would be on strike today if the law allowed them to. CR employees are not government employees, so they should be allowed to strike if they really want to.

They're covered by the RLA. It'll run out a cooling off period and their "strike" will be measured in hours and minutes in the middle of the night before Biden will declare a PEB that will have been written up days earlier.

TWU loves fear-mongering and making empty threats they know won't come to fruition.

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The commuter rail *is* private industry. Commuter rail workers don't work for the MBTA, but for Keolis, a private company. It's up to them to exercise their collective bargaining rights.

The Class I railroads are all private companies, but their employees are subject to the Railway Labor Act; in fact all railroads were private companies when the RLA was enacted. Even Conrail employees were not Government employees when Conrail was owned by the Government.

AUTOCORRECT ALERT: It wants to change Conrail to Contrail when you're not looking.

Why are they paid less than their counterparts from Amtrak and other commuter roads?

mbrproductions wrote:Why are they paid less than their counterparts from Amtrak and other commuter roads?

They're union represented. That's what they negotiated.....

You also can't draw a complete parallel to what the Class 1's and Amtrak earn because these guys go home every night and most of them work Monday through Friday.

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Cost of living here is less than in New York or Chicago — not much, but still less.

BandA wrote: ↑Sun Mar 17, 2024 12:23 pm The article also implies that Commuter Rail workers are jealous of the MBTA transit workers' contract.
How does CR pay compare to similar jobs in private industry? If pay is so bad, why haven't all the employees left?

Stating that the MBTA recognized and dealt with a retention problem that its private contractor has not does not imply "jealousy." What makes you think employees haven't left? When seasoned employees at top pay leave to be replaced by cheaper, impressionable employees it is seen as a win by the private company pocketing the difference at the expense of the taxpayer. As a lifelong citizen of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, I want my services provided by the best in the business, not cheap and inexperienced labor.

eolesen wrote: ↑Wed Mar 20, 2024 1:59 pm

mbrproductions wrote:Why are they paid less than their counterparts from Amtrak and other commuter roads?

They're union represented. That's what they negotiated.....

You also can't draw a complete parallel to what the Class 1's and Amtrak earn because these guys go home every night and most of them work Monday through Friday.

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Very few people and I mean maybe a handful work M-F at Amtrak. Infact maybe 2-3 coach cleaners have both weekend days off here at Amtrak. And thats between all 3 shifts.

I'm not talking about Amtrak working M-F. I'm talking about Keolis, since that's the actual topic...

Those type of operators are more or less on a fixed schedule. Arguably, Amtrak's and the Class 1's wages are set higher to recognize the on-call nature of those jobs as well as spending time away from home.

They're union represented. That's what they negotiated.....

You also can't draw a complete parallel to what the Class 1's and Amtrak earn because these guys go home every night and most of them work Monday through Friday.

What about when compared to the other commuter roads, according to the article, MNRR employees seem to make more than Amtrak workers.

In any case, is this problem exclusive to only certain positions at Keolis, or everyone? I was always under the impression that those in the position of Engineer were well off when it comes to pay, I even had one guy tell me he makes $200K. I'm not sure about the conductors, dispatchers, trackside workers etc.

eolesen wrote: ↑Thu Mar 21, 2024 1:07 am Those type of operators are more or less on a fixed schedule. Arguably, Amtrak's and the Class 1's wages are set higher to recognize the on-call nature of those jobs as well as spending time away from home.

None of that is accurate. The work schedule structure is not different from other railroads.

So Keolis employees spend nights away from home?...

What I've seen of other commuter operations (e.g. Herzog and UPRR) is that those are mostly bid lines with set days off and an extra board to cover vacations and call-offs.

Feel free to offer up what's different about Keolis.

CRail wrote: ↑Wed Mar 20, 2024 10:22 pm Stating that the MBTA recognized and dealt with a retention problem that its private contractor has not does not imply "jealousy." What makes you think employees haven't left?

I did see a sign at South Station the other day saying Keolis is hiring conductors.