ECON Large rail union SMART-TD votes to reject labor deal as national strike moves closer

emiliozapata

emiliozapata

Senior Member
night driver said:
Samuel, I HONESTLY WISH that you were right, and that they would truly work this out in the smokey cloakrooms. I just don't see that given the issues AS PUBLICALLY STATED!
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Do you honestly think the commie unions will cause such upheaval during their commie pal's tenure as pResident?
 
Raggedyman

Raggedyman

Res ipsa loquitur
psychgirl said:
Ok
So it’s going to happen then?
I’m a little confused
Just got home trying to catch up
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I have no special insider connections or knowledge beyond whats been discussed here - just LOTS of personal experience with labor's mindset and a lengthy personal working knowledge of how it functions given 24 years of life in the highly unionized rust belt 50's thru mid 70's. add to that the current mindset of J6P and the mood of this country v that of PTB. here's what I believe to be truth:

we can't predict with certainty that it WILL happen . . . but I believe we CAN say that it seems likely - at least based on what we're being told.

they (union and management) can still come to agreement(s) - BUT - given the obvious level of control DEEPSTATE maintains over corporate boardrooms if the PTB want to force this it would seem they are in a position to do so. given the desire for economic collapse, the weather/season and current state of the supply chain, this is an opportune time to pull it off and ensure a belligerent response from the populace which would justify a jackbooted response and at a time that would ensure their most favorable outcome. all of that last is something else it seems we can state they've been salivating over.

seems accurate to state its better to be safe than sorry - bottom line: its NOT going to be cheaper or more available in the future than it is right now. best to be getting what you need WHILE YOU CAN STILL GET IT
 
Hognutz

Hognutz

Has No Life - Lives on TB
Kris Gandillon said:
The article does NOT imply that it was unanimous.

It says, “The majority of SMART-Transportation Division’s 36,000 members are conductors — who split with the union’s other members on the vote — but the union also represents brakemen, yardmen, engine service employees and yardmasters, who are voting on a separate contract.”

It doesn’t have to be unanimous. We are not given the exact split but it could have been 51% NO to 49% YES and it would still be deemed a rejection.
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Conductors voted around 50.9no to 49.1 yes. Our local union rep went to a meeting where it was told. Most who voted are newer yard working conductors. The old heads wanted it to pass so they could get there backpay owed to them. Some was looking at $40,000 to ,$50,000....Now the contract is not approved, that's a no go for now....
 
Hognutz

Hognutz

Has No Life - Lives on TB
155 arty said:
Can't replace them overnight ??? Lol it would be a disaster to even consider it ...."hey buddy you want to drive a train " ? Sure says the guy off the street ...OK hop in take this load to Chicago....you got a map ???? Lmao
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Dispatchers control mainline routes.....
 
Samuel Adams

Samuel Adams

Has No Life - Lives on TB
Donna_in_OK said:
See... I believe I already gave you the Mayo one, but I'll give you the mustard one somewhere else - now that I know you are interested. I have TONS of recipes to share with you.
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TONS


I am familiar with this term…..having been in the scrap metal business all of my adult life.


Will I need a truck ?

:)
 
B

bracketquant

Veteran Member
Raggedyman said:
ABSOLUTELY 'KREKKT . . . ​

people mention Reagan and the Air Traffic Controllers . . . tell you why that's not even in the same universe. air traffic controllers are "cheap" . . . meaning they are reasonably plentiful (for instance the armed forces spit them out with fair regularity) and they can be found easily and/or quickly replaced - or educated and replaced.

try doing that with a locomotive engineer. or a track maintenance crew. do you know how many HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS of miles of track there are in this country? who's gonna watch all of that? do you know how absolutely sideways these people are capable of becoming when you start FVKing with them?

more personal experience - in '72 I was hauling steel for JV McNicholas out of Youngstown Ohio during the teamsters strike. pulled two loads of rim stock (for truck tire rims) 6 nights a week between US STEEL's 14 mill in McDonnald Ohio and our terminal in Columbus where I'd drop it in the yard and pull a trailer of pipe back home to Youngstown Sheet and Tube. I was a SCAB. I had to WORK because I was in undergrad at the time. I had tuition and rent to pay and groceries to buy. I had a goal in mind- and I was NOT going to be deterred from it. I'd just finished 4 years in the service that I considered a complete and utter waste of time. in that strike they (my brother teamsters) were in the habit of throwing concrete blocks off of bridges into the windshields of tractors. I can tell you I was SCARED TO DEATH.

once again - there are people here on this board who are familiar with that time and that history in the area. these people (RR) are NOT going to comply with sum BULLSHIT "THOU SHALL NOTS" issued from "on high" in ASSKLOWN CENTRAL

its that kind of history, that kind of individual personal experience (and that's just part of my own personal experience - a tiny and insignificant bit of it ) that shapes attitudes and fuels the ABSOLUTE RAGE and CONTEMPT that many of us here and across the country have for TPB and ASSKLOWN CENTRAL in particular.

I'M NOT ALONE in those kinds of experiences. we are finding our voice in this country. I'M THANKFUL FOR THAT. make no mistake this strike - should it materialize - will add fuel to the fire. IMHO they would like NOTHING MORE - its THE perfect reason to let loose the jackboots and - its THE perfect TIME to do so
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If the armed, not army, national guard, and any other military branch comes in to oversee and/or perform track maintenance, you're correct in that the strikers will go absolutely sideways, as in horizontal, if they start messing with soldiers.

I do not expect a strike to happen for any length of time, if at all, with the exception of others coming in to replace strikers. I just can't see the country effectively shutting down
 
T

toxic avenger

Senior Member
I worked for a class 2 railroad for nearly six years. Non-union. The issues the class 1 railroaders are holding out over are legitimate. I couldn’t imagine working in the conditions the class 1s expect workers to endure these days. This is their only chance to strong arm a fair contract. What many people don’t understand is if it isn’t in your contract on a class 1 railroad, then you don’t have that benefit or right. There is no leeway, common sense, or compassion on the railroad.

As far as replacements, there are numerous contractors that can take up a bit of slack. Most capital improvement projects are contracted out and a good deal of contractors are even qualified to operate on sections of class 1 lines. They can be engaged in just keeping up with the small issues that pop up that may cause slow orders, as well as vandalism/ sabotage.

Shortlines may be tasked with operating over lines with management operating as “pilots” until foreign (not foreigners, thats what they refer to train crews operating on other railroads not their own) crews can become qualified. And they’ll be glad to do it, too. This can end up being a huge opportunity for non-union railroads. Local services can be reduced to make crews and equipment available to make longer runs to interchange freight. And look like heroes.

Dispatchers may be the hardest slots to fill; qualified managers may have to fill in or retiree’s may need to be recalled.
 
B

bracketquant

Veteran Member
Apparently, our military has all of 175 88U personnel. I wonder if they've been training any new ones over the past many months.
 
Granny Franny

Granny Franny

Senior Member
It will be interesting to see how this all pans out. The government has passed new labor laws after some strikes in the past, and I think that if there is a strike, it won't last long, but I could be wrong. Here's an interesting slide show the Washington Post put out about Rail strikes that changed America. I can't copy it here due to the format of it, but it's worth taking a quick look at if you're interested.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/interactive/2022/rail-strikes-history-1877-2022/

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night driver

ESFP adrift in INTJ sea
About 3/4th of the way through, the Calif pic of white helmeted strikers backing off the tear gas, those white helmets I BELIEVE were Civil Defense helmets from WW II. I've seen more than a few of them in estate sales and antique shops.

How we have forgotten....
 
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