SMART UnionWASHINGTON — President Obama Feb. 23 named BNSF CEO Matt Rose, AFL-CIO President Rich Trumka and United Food and Commercial Workers’ Secretary-Treasurer Joseph Hansen to the White House Council on Jobs and Competitiveness.
The three join a long list of mostly business executives and bankers on the council.
Its task is to recommend ways to promote growth and bolster U.S. competitiveness in fulfilling Obama’s State of the Union pledge to “out-innovate, out-educate, and out-build” other nations.
A senior Ohio Democrat promises that if Republicans there are successful in passing legislation to revoke collective bargaining rights for public employees, a ballot initiative would be drafted to repeal the law in the next general election, reports the Columbus Dispatch newspaper.
In Wisconsin, Democrats Feb. 22 remained absent from the state, leaving Republicans without a lawful quorum to pass similar legislation revoking collective-bargaining rights for public employees. Republicans hold a majority in both chambers of the legislature.
The South Central Wisconsin Federation of Labor, representing 45,000 union members in the Wisconsin capital of Madison, said Feb. 22 it is considering a “general strike” if the bill becomes law.
Wisconsin state Rep. Mark Pocan, a Democrat, said, “In one fell swoop, Gov. Walker is trying to institute a sweeping radical and dangerous notion that will return Wisconsin to the days when land barons and railroad tycoons controlled the political elites in Madison.”
In Indiana, state House Democrats are boycotting a legislative session considering similar legislation (HB 1468), vowing to remain away and prevent a quorum until they have assurances from Republicans that the bill will not be brought forward when they return, according to the Indianapolis Star newspaper. Republicans hold a majority in both legislative chambers.
Indiana Republican Gov. Mitch Daniels, who supports the legislation, told the newspaper he would not send state police to “round up” the Democrats because they have every right to deny Republicans a quorum to do business.”
In Ohio, the Senate Labor Committee is considering legislation — SB 5 — to revoke collective bargaining rights for public employees amid growing protests against the bill. Some 15,000 demonstrated in Columbus, Ohio’s capital city, Feb. 22, as the Republican-controlled Labor Committee heard testimony on the bill.
Because Republicans hold a majority in both chambers of the Ohio legislature, and because of the size of the Republican majority, Ohio Democrats cannot prevent a quorum by boycotting the legislative session. No date has been set for a vote on SB 5.
Should the legislation pass in Ohio, Democratic Chairman Chris Redfern told the Columbus Dispatch, “We will repeal it at the ballot box, and that will happen. That is the great fear the Republican Party has right now, because of the overreach they’re playing out right now.”
Also speaking out was JoAnn Johntony, president of the Ohio Association of Public School Employees, who told the Columbus Dispatch, “I believe Gov. Kasich decided he wants to squash unions and found a creative way to do it, but he has to realize that we’ve fought this battle before and he will not stop us because we will fight to the very end.”
An Ohio Senate Republican, Timothy J. Grendell, also sounded a warning over the legislation. The Columbus Dispatch reported Grendell said the bill could end up costing the state money and should scare conservatives worried about private contracting rights.
“You’re opening up a Pandora’s Box to the principle that government can interfere with private contract rights when it suits government’s purpose,” Grendell told the newspaper. “If you’re a conservative or a Tea Party person, you should be greatly concerned about that concept because today’s collective bargaining agreement could be tomorrow’s private business contract. I guarantee you litigation will be more expensive than collective bargaining.”
Back to Wisconsin, the Capitol Times newspaper said in an editorial that Gov. Scott Walker, the architect of legislation to outlaw collective bargaining by public employees, “is making political choices, and they are designed not to balance budgets, but to improve his political position and that of his [Republican] party.”
UTU protest pickets in Madison, Wisc. Pictured, from left, are retired Local 590 member Dan Stanley; Ben Deneen, GO 261 General Chairperson James Nelson; Local 590 Vice Chairperson Leath Sheppard; and Wisconsin State Legislative Director Tim Deneen and wife, Susan.
Employees of Western Rail Road in Braunfels, Texas, a wholly owned subsidiary of Cemex USA, have voted to be represented by the UTU.
The railroad moves crushed rock, cement and other aggregates for interchange with Union Pacific at Dittlinger and Stonetown, Texas.
UTU International President Mike Futhey praised the work of UTU organizer Mike Lewis in “bringing first class representation to another hardworking group of railroad workers.”
COLUMBUS, Ohio — As the legislative standoff continues in Wisconsin, Ohio takes center stage Tuesday, Feb. 22, in the battle to preserve collective-bargaining rights for state workers.
The Columbus Dispatch newspaper reports that as many as 20,000 pro collective-bargaining rights demonstrators will be on the front steps of the legislature at 1 p.m., three hours before the Senate Labor Committee hears witness testimony on SB 5, which would revoke collective-bargaining rights for state workers.
State Republican Sen. Kevin Bacon, the Labor Committee chairman, told the newspaper, there would not be a vote on the bill Tuesday afternoon, nor would amendments be offered.
UTU Ohio State Legislative Director Glenn Newsom said that tens of thousands of telephone calls, emails and protest rallies are having an impact on Republican supporters of SB 5. For more information on how to help in Ohio, click on the link at the bottom of this article.
Were SB 5 to move out of committee and eventually become law in Ohio, state workers would no longer be permitted to engage in collective bargaining, through their unions, for health care or working conditions. Even binding arbitration would be scrapped.
Click on the following link to learn how you might help preserve collective-bargaining rights for public employees in Ohio:
https://www.smart-union.org/news/help-preserve-collective-bargaining-in-ohio/
By UTU International President Mike Futhey
The right of workers to join a labor union and bargain collectively with employers over wages, benefits and working conditions is the foundation of workplace democracy.
Brave and dedicated trade unionists before us risked their lives, freedom and economic security fighting for collective bargaining rights, achieving victory first in 1926 with passage of the Railway Labor Act, and then the National Labor Relations Act in 1935.
For public-sector workers, the struggle took longer. Wisconsin was the first state to grant its workforce a right of collective bargaining in 1959. Federal workers gained a collective bargaining right in 1962.
It is ironic that Wisconsin was the first state to sanction public-employee collective bargaining because it is Wisconsin’s governor who this month invited massive civil unrest in his state by attempting to revoke that right.
Similar legislative efforts are underway in Ohio and Tennessee, and the movement to curtail public-employee collective bargaining rights could spread.
If the effort is successful, private-sector workers could then find their own collective-bargaining rights under attack. We are witnessing in Congress and in many state legislatures an anti-union animus stronger than it has been in decades.
To close our eyes to the struggle of state workers in Wisconsin, Ohio or elsewhere is to wake up finding our own collective bargaining rights gone.
That is why union members from across America — many from the United Transportation Union — have been participating in rallies, telephone and email communications efforts, petition drives and other activities in support of public employees whose collective bargaining rights are under attack.
Wisconsin State Legislative Director Tim Deneen and Ohio State Legislative Director Glenn Newsom are coordinating joint action with the targeted public-employee unions.
As a member of the AFL-CIO Executive Committee, I am working with the federation’s Transportation Trades Department to identify additional actions that might be taken to assist in fighting state attempts to restrict or eliminate public-employee collective bargaining.
The outrage is not that public employees must participate — with all segments of society — to close massive budget shortfalls.
The outrage is that Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker wants to revoke the right of public employees to bargain over health care, pensions and working conditions, plus Scott wants to impose significant costs on workers and their unions by requiring annual representational elections and cancelling the state’s collection of union dues through payroll deduction.
This is all about union busting and not about closing budget shortfalls.
In fact, Christopher Policano, an official with the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, said the union is willing to negotiate concessions with Gov. Walker, “but he wants to throw out the bargaining table.”
Wisconsin is not the only state with a big budget deficit. By contrast, in California, Michigan, New York and Pennsylvania, governors are collectively bargaining with state employees to find the least painful alternatives to balance state budgets.
In Pennsylvania, a spokesperson for Gov. Tom Corbett, a Republican, told The New York Times, “We’ll begin negotiations with the public-sector unions and anticipate we’ll conduct those in good faith.”
Many UTU members have inquired how they might join in solidarity with public employees under siege.
Begin with an AFL-CIO sponsored website, “States of Denial,” which provides opportunities for different levels of involvement. Click below to link to the “States of Denial” website:
Click on the following link to see how you might help in Ohio:
https://www.smart-union.org/news/help-preserve-collective-bargaining-in-ohio/
And certainly consider joining, or increasing your contribution to, the UTU PAC, which works to elect union-friendly lawmakers to state legislatures and Congress.
RIVERSIDE, Calif. — School bus-driver members employed by First Student here have voted to return to the UTU, and an agreement negotiated prior to their departure has been implemented.
First Student also agreed to provide retroactive pay in addition to wage increases, and the 120 drivers covered by the agreement also obtained advancement of seniority and seniority pay scales that had been frozen during the period the drivers were represented by another organization.
UTU Bus Department Alternate Vice President Bonnie Morr, who assisted with the negotiations, praised the efforts of First Student drivers Roman Lara and Chris Hubbell. Both had been officers of UTU Local 1496 before its members chose to affiliate with another organization. “They really made a difference,” Morr said.
Preparations for new elections are underway.
Collective bargaining rights of Ohio state employees is under attack, and a state senate committee is considering legislation to halt this cornerstone of American and union workplace democracy.
UTU Ohio State Legislative Director Glenn Newsom reports that many members of the Ohio Senate Labor Committee are having second thoughts about SB 5, which would revoke the collective bargaining rights of state employees.
In America, politicians do bend to the will of the electorate, and Newsom is confident that if enough Ohio state senators are besieged by telephone calls from outraged voters, many senators now supporting SB 5 will reexamine their position on the legislation.
Newsom asks that UTU members, their family and friends contact their Ohio state senator by telephone between now and Tuesday afternoon — when the Senate Labor Committee next meets at 4 p.m. eastern time — to voice their opposition to SB 5 and ask politely them to vote “no” on the bill.
UTU members outside Ohio with friends or family in Ohio also should contact those of voting age and ask them also to make telephone calls opposing SB 5.
Callers might also remind senators that since collective bargaining rights were given state employees in 1983, labor strife was reduced and state employee productivity improved.
SB 5 is a union-busting bill. If it becomes law in Ohio, other states could follow, and the movement could spread to efforts to break private-sector unions.
To contact an Ohio state senator, click on the following link, then click on the county of residence, and the office telephone number for that state senator will appear:
BOSTON — Some 450 UTU-represented conductors and assistant conductors on Massachusetts Bay Commuter Railroad (MBCR) have a tentative new agreement covering wages, benefits and working conditions.A ratification vote is currently underway, with ballots to be counted March 17.
The tentative four-year agreement is retroactive to July 2009, and may be reopened for amendment in July 2013 under provisions of the Railway Labor Act.
Included in the tentative agreement are retroactive pay, a signing bonus, a 13.7 percent overall increase in wages by July 2013, certification pay for conductors, a cap on health care cost-sharing, and a provision that discipline records will not be retained beyond a maximum of 36 months (other than substance abuse violations, which are subject to record-keeping under federal law).
Noteworthy in the tentantive agreement is an increase in compensation for release-time — from the decades-old 50 percent of the full-time rate to 62.5 percent.
The agreement was negotiated by UTU General Chairperson Roger Lenfest and Assistant General Chairperson Dirk Sampson (both, Amtrak, GO 769), with assistance from International Vice President John Previsich. Praised was Local 898 Chairperson Don Wheaton for his input and participation in all aspects of the negotiations.
The Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen has reached a separate tentative agreement with the MBCR. The UTU and the BLET negotiated jointly to reach those separate craft agreements, with the expectation that a better agreement for each craft would result if negotiations were held jointly.
The Transportation Communications Union and shopcrafts recently were released from mediation with the MBCR by the National Mediation Board, but a presidential emergency board (PEB) has yet to be appointed.
Florida has become the third state to reject federal stimulus funds to help create a high-speed rail system.
Florida Gov. Rick Scott Feb. 16 joined Republican governors in Wisconsin and Ohio in saying “no” to the federal funds — all saying state finances are so dire that the states could not afford their share of the money or future subsidies for the new rail passenger service.
At least in the shortrun, this puts an end to efforts to create high-speed rail between Tampa and Orlando.
Scott provided three reasons for rejecting the federal funds:
Said Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood in response to Scott’s decision:
“We are extremely disappointed by Governor Rick Scott’s decision to walk away from the job creating and economic development benefits of high-speed rail in Florida. We worked with the governor to make sure we eliminated all financial risk for the state, instead requiring private businesses competing for the project to assume cost overruns and operating expenses.
“Nevertheless, there is overwhelming demand for high speed rail in other states that are enthusiastic to receive Florida’s funding and the economic benefits it can deliver, such as manufacturing and construction jobs, as well as private development along its corridors.”
The Ft. Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel newspaper reports that U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.) talked Feb. 16 with LaHood about pursuing a plan that would create another Florida entity that could serve as proxy to accept the federal money, rather than the state. “This might involve a team of cities such as Orlando, Lakeland and Tampa, maybe even with private partners, the newspaper reported.
Railway Age magazine reports that House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee Chairman John Mica (R-Fla.) is upset with Gov. Scott’s decision.
“I have urged the governor to reconsider going forward and allow the private sector to assume the risk and any future costs for the project,” Railway Age quoted Mica as saying. “With the federal government assuming 90 percent of the cost of the project, I am disappointed the private sector will not have an opportunity to even offer innovative proposals to help finance the balance of the costs and to construct and operate this system.”
As we celebrate Black History Month in February, here are some inventions by African-Americans of interest to rail and bus members:
* Andrew Jackson Beard, born a slave in Alabama, became a railroad employee and invented the Jenny coupler in 1897 after losing a leg using the dangerous link-and-pin coupler. The Jenny coupler, utilizing interlocking jaws, was the first automatic coupler allowing brakemen to avoid having to risk limbs while manually coupling cars. That same year, Congress enacted the first of the Federal Safety Appliance acts, requiring railroads to utilize automatic couplers.
* Elijah McCoy invented an automatic lubricator for oiling steam engines in 1872.
* Garrett Augustus Morgan invented a three-way non-electric automatic semaphore stop sign in 1923, which was the precursor to three-light electric traffic signals.
* Granville Woods, known as the “Black Edison,” was a railroad fireman and locomotive engineer who invented a telegraph system in 1887 that was used to communicate between trains and tower telegraphers to advise the distance between moving trains. He also invented overhead electric conducting lines in 1888 — now known as catenary wires; and a railroad air brake in 1902.
Meanwhile, Amtrak’s 14th Annual Black History Celebration program is scheduled for Feb. 26 at Washington Union Station in Washington, D.C.