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Rail Labor activists from across North
America are coming together to form a new cross-craft inter-union
caucus that includes all rail workers in North America. Membership is
open to union members from all the various unions (once known as the
"brotherhoods") in this new organization. In addition,
special efforts will be made to include Canadian and Mexican workers as well.
To build this broad based unity and solidarity, the activists have
launched Railroad Workers United (RWU). "We want everyone to
understand that we are not creating another rail union to compete with
those already in existence", explains Jon Flanders, member of
Machinists #1145 in Selkirk, NY. "Instead, we are
creating an industry-wide caucus where we can all come together to help
each other build the solidarity, support, democracy and strength that
is missing in our individual craft unions. Who knows what the
potentials and possibilities could be for such an organization of all
rail labor."
Designed to be a dues-paying membership-based organization, RWU will
include among its ranks, members of the following unions:
United Transportation Union (UTU), the largest rail union, which
represents most trainmen and yardmasters and some engineers, now
scheduled to merge on January 1, 2008, with the Sheet Metal Workers.
Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen, (BLET), an affiliate
of the Teamsters Rail Conference.
The Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employees (BMWED), also a
member union of the Teamsters Rail Conference. Transportation Communication Union
(TCU), itself an amalgamation of seven previous rail unions. (TCU is an
affiliate of the Machinists union).
Brotherhood of Railway Carmen (BRC), the largest TCU
affiliate. Brotherhood of Railroad
Signalmen (BRS). American Train Dispatchers Association (ATDA).
International Association of Machinists (IAM). International Brotherhood of
Electrical Workers (IBEW). Sheet Metal Workers International Association
(SMWIA). International Association of Boilermakers, Blacksmiths, Iron
Ship Builders, Forgers & Helpers. National Conference of Firemen
& Oilers (NCFO), an affiliate of SEIU. Transportation Workers Union
(TWU).
"We have been divided - craft against craft, union against union,
terminal against terminal - for too long,' claims Joe Wyman, UTU
trainman in Tucson, AZ. And now, with the dramatic
increase in trans-border freight movements between all three nations of
our continent, and the gobbling up of major Mexican rail lines by U.S.
based rail carriers, organizers suspect it is only a question of time
before the carriers effectively play one country's railroaders off
against another. Wyman goes on to say, "We know we will truly be
stronger by including all railroaders in North America - from Canada
and Mexico as well as the U.S."
The impetus and energy for the building of such an organization largely
comes from Railroad Operating Crafts United (ROCU). Organized itself in
the spring of 2005, ROCU's goal was to end the warfare between the two
unions that represent the operating crafts -- the BLET and the UTU –
and to unite them into a single powerful and democratic union. While
the organization was extremely popular with the rank-and-file of both
unions and had some successes, it ultimately floundered due to the
failure of UTU and BLET union officials to reach accommodation. Earlier
this year, the BLET settled on a contract in master freight bargaining
with the national carriers, while the UTU has been left out in the
cold. In addition, some on-property agreements re-fueled the UTU-BLET
conflict. Feeling betrayed by
what it perceives as a hostile BLET, the UTU ran for cover into the
arms of the Sheet Metal Workers, and has now merged with the SMWIA to
become SMART - Sheet Metal, Air, Rail & Transportation Workers, an
affiliate of the AFL-CIO. With the BLET firmly affiliated with the
Teamsters (IBT), an affiliate of the Change-to-Win Coalition, ROCU
realized that hope for a merger between the operating craft unions was
all but lost in the convoluted quagmire of business unionism of the
21st century.
"Rather than continue to beat our heads against the wall in face
of the determination of the officials of the BLET and the UTU to remain
separate and at war with each other", states Union Pacific engineer
Ed Michael of Salem, IL., "we decided to put our
energy into building something that most of us already believe in, or
have come to believe in, as a result of our experience in ROCU. We
believe that an organization of all rail labor is the key to building
real rank-and-file power in our industry." And while RWU
continues, in principle, to
support the concept of a united single union of the operating crafts
(and all of rail labor), this will not be the focus of its work.
Rather, RWU aims to build a solidarity movement of all rail labor in
the struggle with the carriers.
"It doesn't take a genius to see that the fractured nature of rail
labor presents a stumbling block to achieving any real union power in
the face of hostile rail carriers," notes Jen Wallis, BNSF
conductor in Seattle, WA.
Since the first rail workers began to organize in the 1860's rail labor
has been divided into these archaic and cumbersome craft unions which
are more often prone to compete, rather than cooperate, with each
other. The divisive nature of craft unionism was not lost on Eugene
Victor Debs and other forward thinking rail union leaders of their
day. In the 1890's these
leaders organized a gallant attempt to build a single union of rail workers
to unite all under the banner of the American Railway Union. The
organization was wildly popular with the rank-and-file of all crafts
and within months the ARU had 250,000 members! The new organization was
so successful that the carriers feared its awesome power to bring the
railroads to their knees. Together with the federal courts and US
government, the ARU was violently crushed, its records confiscated, its
leaders jailed. But it had proven its strength and effectiveness, and
the desire for such an organization lives on in the hearts of
railroaders across North America. The name of Eugene V. Debs is revered
among rail unionists to this day.
While RWU is not an attempt to build a new union like the ARU, there
are similarities. RWU includes members of all the various craft unions
on all properties. Membership is open to all railroaders who share
RWU's goal of building a "solidarity and unity caucus" among
railroaders and to act as a support group for workers in their
struggles. "We are building a network of railroaders across North
America, to help educate one another about the issues, inform each
other about our individual struggles, and to actively lend support and
solidarity when one or another group of us is locked in battle with any
carrier." states Kevin Thompson, UTU conductor with Amtrak in Reno,
NV.
To these ends, RWU will specifically engage in the following
activities:
Support candidates, who actively support RWU goals and principles, for
leadership positions in the various unions.
Support movements for democracy and accountability within the various
rail unions Build unity between unions at the next round of bargaining.
Act as a solidarity organization locally, regionally and nationally by
building awareness and support for each others' job actions, strikes,
etc.
Develop a newsletter to be distributed continent wide with news and
views about the rail labor unity movement and various struggles across
North America.
Develop and maintain an up-to-the-minute website to augment the
newsletter, providing railroaders with timely information about
rank-and-file issues.
Support mergers between rail unions where they make sense and empower
the rank-and-file.
Build local chapters in terminals to more effectively recruit new
members, build solidarity at the base, and support the general
organization.
Get behind national legislative campaigns that would benefit rail
workers, facilitate union organizing, and benefit the working class in
general.
But RWU is not just about building solidarity. Organizers claim that
the problem of rail labor is not just its divided and fractured nature,
but one of moribund bureaucracy and the lack of internal democracy.
"Union leaders are all too often out-of-touch with the needs and
wishes of their membership", claims Hugh Sawyer, NS
engineer in Atlanta, GA. And Local Chairman of BLET
#316. Through tightly controlled conventions, no direct elections for
top officers, and an entrenched "good old boy" network,
rank-and-file members are excluded and alienated from day-to-day union
affairs. Sawyer continues, "Add to this the pay, special perks and
privileges enjoyed by the union hierarchy, and you have a union more
concerned with the preservation and enhancement of the lifestyle of its
officers than that of its members."
RWU has drawn up a "Statement of Principles" to act as a
guide to its work. Those railroaders wishing to join the organization
are expected to agree with and support RWU's principles and goals which
include support for the following:
-Unity of all Railroad Crafts
-An End to Inter-Union Conflict
-Rank-and-file Democracy
-Union Membership Education, Participation and Action
-Solidarity: "An Injury to One is an Injury to All!"
-Coordinated Bargaining -- No to Concessions
An "Interim Steering Committee" drawing from the ranks of all
crafts and all unions has been set up to guide the group until its
founding convention. The convention is scheduled to take place Friday,
April 11th, 2008, and is planned to coincide with the Labor Notes
Conference in Detroit that weekend. There, the
delegates present expect to formally adopt a name, a Statement of
Principles, a constitution and bylaws, and will debate and discuss
various resolutions. Organizers are inviting workers from all carriers,
all crafts and all unions in the United States, Canada,
and Mexico. All rail unionists who support
the interim "Statement of Principles" and are willing to join
and pay dues are welcome to attend and participate in the founding
convention.
For more information, including a copy of the RWU Statement of
Principles, please contact the RWU at 206-984-3051;
http://www.railroadworkersunited.org/
or mailto:info@railroadworkersunited.org
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