Live updates: Rail companies demand Congress intervene as railroad workers press for strike action

On Wednesday evening, more than 500 rank-and-file rail workers participated in a meeting called by the Rail Workers Rank-and-File Committee to prepare strike action as the “cooling off period” is set to expire in less than 24 hours, at 12:01 a.m. on Friday. The meeting was co-sponsored by the World Socialist Web Site and the International Workers Alliance of Rank-and-File Committees.

The meeting was called under the headline, “Organize to prepare for a national strike!” Participants included workers from throughout the US at BNSF, CSX, Union Pacific, Canadian National, Norfolk Southern and other railways. They included engineers and conductors, machinists, mechanics, carmen, switchmen, signalmen and other workers.

The meeting was held as Congress and the Biden administration, with the support of both the companies and the rail unions, are working out some way to block a strike by 100,000 rail workers on Friday.

Workers at the meeting spoke powerfully in opposition to the efforts to ram through agreements based on Biden’s Presidential Emergency Board (PEB), which accepts all of the companies’ demands, and denounced the union apparatus for failing to represent them.

At the conclusion of the meeting, workers adopted a resolution, with 98 percent in favor, stating the following:

This democratic assembly of rank-and-file railroad workers resolves:

1. We will not accept any act by Congress that violates our democratic right to strike and imposes upon us a contract that we do not accept and has not been ratified by the rank and file.

2. We demand a contract that address our needs, including a major pay increase to make up for years of declining wages; cost-of-living adjustments to meet soaring inflation; an end to brutal attendance policies; guaranteed time off and sick days; and an end to the push for one-man crews.

3. We inform the unions that any attempt to force through contracts that we do not accept and that have not been voted on, or to keep us working without a contract, will be in violation of clear instructions given by the rank and file.

More information on the meeting will be published on the World Socialist Web Site. Rail workers can join or contact the committee by sending an email to railwrfc@gmail.com.

BNSF, one of the major rail companies in the US, issued a statement today demanding that Congress intervene to enforce agreements modeled on the Biden administration’s Presidential Emergency Board (PEB) if such agreements are not reached before the end of the “cooling off” period Friday at 12:01 a.m.

In its letter to Congress, BNSF stated that the “good news” was that “the railroads have now reached Tentative Agreements (TAs) with a large majority of rail unions involved in national negotiations.” These agreements, it noted, were based on the Biden administration’s PEB recommendations.

The company did not note that workers at one of these unions, the International Association of Machinists (IAM), had already rejected an agreement overwhelmingly, while another union, the Brotherhood of Railway Signalmen, canceled plans to bring the contract to a vote because it had no chance of passing.

The two unions that have not yet agreed to PEB-based agreements, the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen and SMART-TD, oversee the majority of railroad workers, around 90,000. They have not attempted to force through deals yet because they know that they will be overwhelmingly rejected by railroad workers.

Far from being a “neutral” body, as BNSF claimed, the PEB accepted all the demands of the railroad companies, including wage increases below inflation, increased health care costs and no changes to the hated attendance policies that leave train crews on call 24/7.

If workers refuse to accept these conditions, and if the union apparatus is unable to force them to, BNSF demanded that Congress intervene. The letter referred to legislation introduced by Republican Senators Richard Burr and Roger Wicker that it said would “provide for the resolution of issues in the current labor-management negotiations.”

“Absent the preferred outcome of voluntary agreements,” the letter concluded, “this would be the most certain, straightforward and fair result for all parties concerned.”

Such a “resolution of issues,” would, in fact, make a mockery of the democratic rights of workers who are overwhelmingly opposed to the PEB recommendations. It would mean implementing by government decree contracts written by the rail companies, endorsed by the corporate-controlled White House, and supported by trade union officials in the pockets of the companies.

A CSX repair worker from Albany, New York, told the WSWS Railroad Workers Newsletter, “I don’t know why we have a union if we can’t go on strike and Congress is just going to impose the PEB recommendations. Why don’t we just cut out the middle man and have the government dictate the terms?

“There are many workers saying we should reject the TA and go on strike. My hours are not as bad as some of the engineers and conductors, but if there is a derailment or some other type of emergency they say everyone has to stay and no one can leave. You can work 24 hours straight. We’ve also worked all throughout the pandemic and have gotten no extra compensation. I’ll be on the railroad workers town hall tonight to see what we can do to fight.”

A BNSF engineer with 15 years experience from western Tennessee said, “The guys around here think the union is soft and will cave in to what little pressure there is and accept this PEB crap with the attendance policies and no sick days. And what is a 22 percent pay raise over five years? This is totally unacceptable. And this is from a ‘pro-union president.’

“The PEB recommendations are totally for BNSF and the other companies. They feel like there is nothing to negotiate because they know the union will cave or the government will shove this down our throats. From the union’s perspective, if Congress acts they can say, ‘We tried out best to fight but we couldn’t do anything about it.’

“There are a lot of guys saying we should strike regardless of what Congress says. We have to get the whole body of railroad workers to do it. They could not replace 60,000 workers if we walked out. They can’t even find workers to replace the 1,000 who retired.

“When I first hired in you used to get 300-350 applicants for 20 positions. Now you can’t get 20 applicants for 30 vacant positions. Right now management can’t enforce the attendance policy and put people out of work because they can’t hire anyone.”

The International Association of Machinists (IAM) District Lodge 19 reported Wednesday morning that railroad machinists have rejected a tentative agreement. The IAM is one of twelve unions that oversee railroad workers.

In a short statement, the IAM wrote, “The voting has concluded, and the results are in. The Tentative Agreement has been rejected and the strike authorization vote was approved.”

The IAM did not report any numbers, but workers say that opposition to the agreement was overwhelming.

The agreement rejected by workers was based on the recommendations of the Biden administration’s Presidential Emergency Board (PEB).

The recommendations of the PEB accepted all the demands of the railroad companies, including wage increases below inflation, increased health care costs and no changes to the hated attendance policies that leave train crews on call 24/7.

Provocatively, the IAM statement declared that “out of respect for the other Unions in the ratification process an extension has been agreed to until September 29, 2022.”

In fact, the unions are pursuing a divide-and-conquer strategy, attempting to push through agreements based on the PEB at a number of unions. Railroad workers have said, however, that they will not cross picket lines if workers in any of the unions begin strike action.

“The Machinists rank and file overwhelmingly reject extending the cooling off period,” a machinist in the IAM working in St. Louis, Missouri, told the WSWS Railroad Worker Newsletter.

“When we voted to strike we were told it would be 12:01 am September 16th. We have waited long enough for a decent contract, and we demand to strike on the 16th. The IAM unauthorized decision to leave the coalition left us vulnerable and caused division and anger amongst the members.”

A BNSF engine mechanic in the IAM added, “At my location the majority is happy that it was voted down. But they are mad mad over the extension. Guys are ready to strike. They are tired of it. They are calling for blood from the District. They feel we should have voted on an extension if that was on the table.”

Union officials are meeting today with the Biden administration’s Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh and representatives of the rail companies in an effort to block a strike before the “cooling off period” ends at 12:01 am Friday.

The unions involved in the discussions are the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET) and SMART-TD , which together include the majority of railroaders as members. Ten other unions have already accepted contracts based on the recommendations of Biden’s Presidential Emergency Board (PEB).

Aware of the enormous opposition from workers to the PEB proposals, which accept all of the companies’ demands, the BLET and SMART-TD have not yet agreed to contracts. Union officials are seeking something that they might be able to use to sell to members.

This something amounts, however, to nothing. The BLET, for example, has said that it is asking for unpaid sick leave, which the companies hav rejected.

“Our proposal of no paid sick time costs them no money,” BLET President Dennis Pierce pleaded in comments to CNBC on Wednesday. “It’s something they can manage. It doesn’t harm their business model.”

With less than three days to go before the deadline for a national railroad strike, the rail unions are working desperately to work out a deal with the seven Class I freight railroads. The unions, however, are faced with overwhelming opposition from workers, which is seriously disrupting their attempts to bureaucratically enforce a sellout deal.

Rail workers are fighting against a concessions contract proposal issued last month by a Biden-appointed Presidential Emergency Board that includes cuts to real wages and increases to health care costs. It also leaves intact the hated attendance policies that have driven tens of thousands out of the industry.

Despite the civil war atmosphere reigning inside Washington, both parties have indicated that they are prepared to come together to pass legislation to block a strike. Steny Hoyer, the number two Democrat in the House, told Bloomberg News that Congress would intervene. On Monday night, Republican Senators Richard Burr and Roger Wicker proposed legislation to impose the PEB right at Friday’s deadline.

In a groveling letter to congressional leaders for both parties Tuesday, the Transportation Division of the International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers, declared, “We humbly ask you to please let the two sides work this out.”

In other words, the unions are not demanding Congress stay out of a strike that will take place on Friday. Instead, they are begging Congress to give the unions the space and time needed to enforce a deal and avoid a strike. The letter adds, “Now is not the time for short-sightedness, as the fragility of the economy is very real.”

The companies, however, refuse to make even the slightest concessions on the brutal work regime on the railroads, where workers are constantly on call and are unable to schedule time with their families or even doctors’ appointments. The Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen, which together with SMART-TD include the majority of railroaders as members, said that they would even soften their bargaining position by asking for unpaid sick leave, to no avail.

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Congress intends to intervene to prevent a national rail strike and unilaterally impose a concessions contract, Steny Hoyer, the second highest ranking Democrat in the House of Representatives, told Bloomberg News on Monday.

“There is a role for Congress if in fact they fail to reach an agreement,” Hoyer told Bloomberg’s television news station. “We can pass legislation if needed.” He added, “A railroad strike at this point in time would be extraordinarily detrimental to our economy and the American people, and we want to avoid that.”

The US Chamber of Commerce also issued a statement demanding intervention by Congress in the event that a deal is not struck before Friday’s deadline, when the legally mandated “cooling-off” period expires at 12:01 a.m. This is the latest public statement by a major industry group demanding Congress intervene to impose a contract by fiat, ripping up the democratic rights of 100,000 railroaders who are nearly unanimously opposed to a deal and are pushing for strike action.

While not unexpected, Hoyer’s remarks are a significant escalation of the state’s efforts to impose a pro-company contract. They follow Biden’s appointment of a Presidential Emergency Board (PEB), which proposed a settlement including wage increases below inflation, increased health care costs and no changes to the hated attendance policies that leave train crews on call 24/7.

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