Originally Posted by
Coal Dragger
Go read the Railway Labor Act of 1926. That will explain how Congress has authority to get involved.
Cliff notes of late:
1.) The big class 1 RR’s starting around 2015 or so adopted “Precision Scheduled Railroading” officially or unofficially to appease activist investors. PSR is none of the things it claims to be. It’s all about cutting costs to improve operating ratio. So cut employee headcount, defer maintenance, run off low margin customers, and slow down trains by making them huge and underpowered to “save” on crew starts and power.
2.) Since that time we have seen a roughly 30% reduction in craft and operating employees. In order to force those of us remaining to be available to do all the work, draconian attendance policies are in place to make taking time off very difficult and eventually punishable by termination.
3.) Since they ran off so many employees now they can’t effectively run their railroads if operating conditions deviate from optimal. A problem of their own design, the RR’s solution is of course to eliminate more jobs. So they have been trying to get rid of conductors on freight trains. Their thinking being that one man train crews will be easier to staff. Never mind the fact operationally it is a bad idea.
4.) With those goals of screwing employees over they entered contract negotiations in 2020 with no intention of negotiating in good faith. Their proposal was to give minuscule raises that would be pay cuts once health insurance costs were factored in. For conductors they demanded a pay cut for any remaining after eliminating the majority of positions.
5.) Many steps in the RLA and a couple of years later we arrived at Congress and POTUS imposing the findings of a Presidential Emergency Board on us. We got more money than RR’s wanted to give us, RR’s got some work change rules that will make everyone more miserable. Paid sick leave wasn’t addressed and the RR’s oppose it not because of how much 7 sick days cost, but because they are so understaffed they can’t let people have time off.
6.) Congress and POTUS did exactly what the RR’s wanted and prevented a strike, taking away the only real leverage employees have in negotiating. This is why they started the entire process unwilling to negotiate in good faith. The RLA just about guarantees they never have to.
Did anyone in Congress or the Administration tell the RR’s to stop dicking the dog and hire more people?
How many PTO days in total does a RR employee get per year?
What if this whole crusade's a charade?
And behind it all there's a price to be paid
For the blood which we dine
Justified in the name of the holy and the divine…
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