Railroad Workers United is an all-union, cross-craft solidarity caucus of railroad workers and their supporters from all crafts, all carriers, and all unions across North America. They urge Union Railroaders to continue being active in their craft union and join the RWU and build solidarity and strength amongst all railroad workers.
Labor Radio asked Ross Grooters to give us his assessment of the contract imposed on railroad workers.
Ross Grooters: Yeah, it’s disappointing that Congress imposed a contract upon us. Most railroad workers knew that the culmination of the process would be Congress enacting legislation to put us back to work. What we didn’t know is when that would happen, and under what terms, it is disappointing, but it was also an unexpected step in this process.
Frank Emspak: Could you give us some examples of some of the problems with the settlement? For example, the publicity around the settlement indicated that rail workers won considerable wage increases.
Ross Grooters: So 22% over five years, that’s less than 4.5% a year in these times with soaring inflation. You can imagine how that wage increase while it’s being highlighted as a record wage increase. It may not keep us above water over the terms of the contract. It’s a modest wage increase. And in the meantime, health insurance is going up. And, the biggest sticking point here is that what the railroads have done with their operating model to make billions and billions of dollars and become the most profitable industry in this country currently.
Ross Grooters explains that the railroads installed a new system called Precision Scheduled Railroading.
Ross Grooters: PSR – Precision scheduled railroading, the Financial Heist Operating Model that they’ve done enacted these very draconian attendance policies that we risk discipline. So, but as the railroads cut employees, they had to institute these attendance policies that make it impossible for us to predict or take time off as we need it in, in moments of illness or taking care of family members or whatever the case may be.
Grooters outlined what the rail unions would have to do if they want to win in the future.
Ross Grooters: If we wanna win in the future, we’ve got to find a different way of doing things to ensure that we’re putting enough pressure on politicians that they cannot ignore us as workers, but also the public who is also being affected by the Freight Railroad system. And it’s largely why Railroad Workers United and other people have stepped up in this moment to speak out and advocate for us as railroad workers. One of the things that, as a unionist, first off, the craft union system is somewhat antiquated. We need one industrial union. We need to speak with one voice and bring our issues together, unified. The second thing I’d say about that is we are leaving power unutilized if we do not find a way to get rank and file involvement in the contract and bargaining situation. We need to be leveraging the voices of workers, ordinary workers in our unions, in our industry.
Frank Emspak: To really provide the services our nation needs, The RWU has also called for the nationalization of the freight railroads. In a stunning upset, the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen expressed their disgust with the imposed contract and ousted incumbent President Dennis Pierce and replaced him with Eddie Hall, a local officer from Tucson, Arizona. This may be the first of many upheavals in the railroad unions.
Finally, Labor Radio wants our listeners to know that Representative Mark Pocan voted with the workers to reject the recommendation of the Presidential Emergency Board.
Reporter: Frank Emspak from Madison Labor Radio. Interviewee: Ross Grooters from RWU. Photo courtesy RWU on facebook. Web producer: Anyu Li.
