Railroad workers are objecting to the legislation passed and signed by President Biden that shuts down their right to strike. Fifty five percent of the membership voted the contract down. Marilee Taylor, a railroad workers united member and a 34-year veteran locomotive engineer shared her take on the situation with Labor Radio reporter Ellen La Luzerne.
Reporter: The key issues for railroad workers is both quality of life and lack of sick leave time. What do you remember think of Biden’s imposition of a contract that includes 7 days of sick leave?
Marilee: The Biden administration and his cabinet Pelosi and Schumer, etc. They brought to Congress a vote to prevent us from exercising our democratic right to strike. 55% of us we voted down and now it’s being imposed by the most undemocratic, Reaganesque type behavior from an allegedly pro Union president.
Reporter: Railroad workers are covered by a different law than most employees, which is the national Railway Labor act that act prohibits strikes. Can you address that?
Marilee: But I believe that’s their legal cover. It’s an undemocratic, unjust, unfair law. The bigger danger is that I think every unionist in this country. Feels this to the bone that the government, an Imperial king, called the president here, decides to rally his forces and use some law to negate our vote.
Reporter: Do you think the strike is going to happen or do you think there’ll be some movement?
Marilee: I will say for the record, openly and publicly that I will support and defend any actions that workers on the railroad feel they need to take in order to protect their interest. Our labor is all we have left, three years of meandering negotiations where the carriers have been intransigent. They refuse to negotiate the central issue here, which is time off work, quality of life issues.
Reporter: What are your working conditions like?
Marilee: We’re 30% less than we were six years ago. We’re doing at least the same amount of work, it’s a struggle for safety and we don’t just mean our safety in the cab for me, my partner on the other side of the locomotive cab, and every single person in the communities I carry that train through. We work on call seven days a week, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. The only off time we’re guaranteed off is the time I call in and say shift off and I get 24 hours and if it falls on a Saturday and I’m too tired to work because, I’m not going to place you, myself, my coworkers, and all of our community neighbors in jeopardy. I will be penalized. They will charge me. They will discipline me. If it happens to be a Saturday or what they call a high impact day I could lose my job.
Reporter: Why are your issues important to the rest of the working class?
Marilee: Oh, we’re afraid of economic upsets where this where that? They can point that same finger regardless of any laws at the ILWU and say “Oh no, we have a shortage of toilet paper. You will load and unload those stocks and you will take whatever piece of garbage contract is thrown at you.” That’s what they have done to us. They could do that to them, then teachers, nurses. We know that if they came for us, they are coming for you.
Interviewee: Marilee Taylor, 34-year veteran locomotive engineer and member of Railroad Workers United. Report by Ellen La Luzerne. Photo courtesy Campbell on Unsplash. Web production by Anyu Li.