[Marxism] Rail Labor Activists Build Solidarity Caucus

[Jon Flanders <jonathan.flanders@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Rail Labor Activists Build Solidarity Caucus

By Ron Kaminkow

Rail Labor activists from across North America are coming together to
form a new cross-craft inter-union caucus that includes all rail workers
in North America. Membership is open to union members from all the
various unions (once known as the âbrotherhoodsâ) in this new
organization. In addition, special efforts will be made to include
Canadian and Mexican workers as well.

To build this broad based unity and solidarity, the activists have
launched Railroad Workers United (RWU). âWe want everyone to understand
that we are not creating another rail union to compete with those
already in existenceâ, explains Jon Flanders, member of Machinists #1145
in Selkirk, NY. âInstead, we are creating an industry-wide caucus where
we can all come together to help each other build the solidarity,
support, democracy and strength that is missing in our individual craft
unions. Who knows what the potentials and possibilities could be for
such an organization of all rail labor.â

Designed to be a dues-paying membership-based organization, RWU will
include among its ranks, members of the following unions:

United Transportation Union (UTU), the largest rail union, which
represents most trainmen and yardmasters and some engineers, now
scheduled to merge on January 1, 2008, with the Sheet Metal Workers.
Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen, (BLET), an affiliate
of the Teamsters Rail Conference.
The Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employees (BMWED), also a member
union of the Teamsters Rail Conference.
Transportation Communication Union (TCU), itself an amalgamation of
seven previous rail unions. (TCU is an affiliate of the Machinists
union).
Brotherhood of Railway Carmen (BRC), the largest TCU affiliate.
Brotherhood of Railroad Signalmen (BRS).
American Train Dispatchers Association (ATDA).
International Association of Machinists (IAM).
International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW). Sheet Metal
Workers International Association (SMWIA).
International Association of Boilermakers, Blacksmiths, Iron Ship
Builders, Forgers & Helpers.
National Conference of Firemen & Oilers (NCFO), an affiliate of SEIU.
Transportation Workers Union (TWU).

âWe have been divided â craft against craft, union against union,
terminal against terminal â for too long,â claims Joe Wyman, UTU
trainman in Tucson, AZ. And now, with the dramatic increase in
trans-border freight movements between all three nations of our
continent, and the gobbling up of major Mexican rail lines by U.S. based
rail carriers, organizers suspect it is only a question of time before
the carriers effectively play one countryâs railroaders off against
another. Wyman goes on to say, âWe know we will truly be stronger by
including all railroaders in North America â from Canada and Mexico as
well as the U.S.â

The impetus and energy for the building of such an organization largely
comes from Railroad Operating Crafts United (ROCU). Organized itself in
the spring of 2005, ROCUâs goal was to end the warfare between the two
unions that represent the operating crafts -- the BLET and the UTU â and
to unite them into a single powerful and democratic union. While the
organization was extremely popular with the rank-and-file of both unions
and had some successes, it ultimately floundered due to the failure of
UTU and BLET union officials to reach accommodation. Earlier this year,
the BLET settled on a contract in master freight bargaining with the
national carriers, while the UTU has been left out in the cold. In
addition, some on-property agreements re-fueled the UTU-BLET conflict.
Feeling betrayed by what it perceives as a hostile BLET, the UTU ran for
cover into the arms of the Sheet Metal Workers, and has now merged with
the SMWIA to become SMART â Sheet Metal, Air, Rail & Transportation
Workers, an affiliate of the AFL-CIO. With the BLET firmly affiliated
with the Teamsters (IBT), an affiliate of the Change-to-Win Coalition,
ROCU realized that hope for a merger between the operating craft unions
was all but lost in the convoluted quagmire of business unionism of the
21st century.

âRather than continue to beat our heads against the wall in face of the
determination of the officials of the BLET and the UTU to remain
separate and at war with each otherâ, states Union Pacific engineer Ed
Michael of Salem, IL., âwe decided to put our energy into building
something that most of us already believe in, or have come to believe
in, as a result of our experience in ROCU. We believe that an
organization of all rail labor is the key to building real rank-and-file
power in our industry.â And while RWU continues, in principle, to
support the concept of a united single union of the operating crafts
(and all of rail labor), this will not be the focus of its work. Rather,
RWU aims to build a solidarity movement of all rail labor in the
struggle with the carriers.

âIt doesnât take a genius to see that the fractured nature of rail labor
presents a stumbling block to achieving any real union power in the face
of hostile rail carriers,â notes Jen Wallis, BNSF conductor in Seattle,
WA. Since the first rail workers began to organize in the 1860âs rail
labor has been divided into these archaic and cumbersome craft unions
which are more often prone to compete, rather than cooperate, with each
other. The divisive nature of craft unionism was not lost on Eugene
Victor Debs and other forward thinking rail union leaders of their day.
In the 1890âs these leaders organized a gallant attempt to build a
single union of rail workers to unite all under the banner of the
American Railway Union. The organization was wildly popular with the
rank-and-file of all crafts and within months the ARU had 250,000
members! The new organization was so successful that the carriers feared
its awesome power to bring the railroads to their knees. Together with
the federal courts and US government, the ARU was violently crushed, its
records confiscated, its leaders jailed. But it had proven its strength
and effectiveness, and the desire for such an organization lives on in
the hearts of railroaders across North America. The name of Eugene V.
Debs is revered among rail unionists to this day.

While RWU is not an attempt to build a new union like the ARU, there are
similarities. RWU includes members of all the various craft unions on
all properties. Membership is open to all railroaders who share RWUâs
goal of building a âsolidarity and unity caucusâ among railroaders and
to act as a support group for workers in their struggles. âWe are
building a network of railroaders across North America, to help educate
one another about the issues, inform each other about our individual
struggles, and to actively lend support and solidarity when one or
another group of us is locked in battle with any carrier.â states Kevin
Thompson, UTU conductor with Amtrak in Reno, NV.

To these ends, RWU will specifically engage in the following activities:

Support candidates, who actively support RWU goals and principles, for
leadership positions in the various unions.
Support movements for democracy and accountability within the various
rail unions Build unity between unions at the next round of bargaining.
Act as a solidarity organization locally, regionally and nationally by
building awareness and support for each othersâ job actions, strikes,
etc.
Develop a newsletter to be distributed continent wide with news and
views about the rail labor unity movement and various struggles across
North America.
Develop and maintain an up-to-the-minute website to augment the
newsletter, providing railroaders with timely information about
rank-and-file issues.
Support mergers between rail unions where they make sense and empower
the rank-and-file.
Build local chapters in terminals to more effectively recruit new
members, build solidarity at the base, and support the general
organization.
Get behind national legislative campaigns that would benefit rail
workers, facilitate union organizing, and benefit the working class in
general.

But RWU is not just about building solidarity. Organizers claim that the
problem of rail labor is not just its divided and fractured nature, but
one of moribund bureaucracy and the lack of internal democracy. âUnion
leaders are all too often out-of-touch with the needs and wishes of
their membershipâ, claims Hugh Sawyer, NS engineer in Atlanta, GA. and
Local Chairman of BLET #316. Through tightly controlled conventions, no
direct elections for top officers, and an entrenched âgood old boyâ
network, rank-and-file members are excluded and alienated from
day-to-day union affairs. Sawyer continues, âAdd to this the pay,
special perks and privileges enjoyed by the union hierarchy, and you
have a union more concerned with the preservation and enhancement of the
lifestyle of its officers than that of its members.â

RWU has drawn up a âStatement of Principlesâ to act as a guide to its
work. Those railroaders wishing to join the organization are expected to
agree with and support RWUâs principles and goals which include support
for the following:

Unity of all Railroad Crafts
An End to Inter-Union Conflict
Rank-and-file Democracy
Union Membership Education, Participation and Action
Solidarity: âAn Injury to One is an Injury to All!â
Coordinated Bargaining -- No to Concessions

An âInterim Steering Committeeâ drawing from the ranks of all crafts and
all unions has been set up to guide the group until its founding
convention. The convention is scheduled to take place Friday, April
11th, 2008, and is planned to coincide with the Labor Notes Conference
in Detroit that weekend. There, the delegates present expect to formally
adopt a name, a Statement of Principles, a constitution and bylaws, and
will debate and discuss various resolutions. Organizers are inviting
workers from all carriers, all crafts and all unions in the United
States, Canada, and Mexico. All rail unionists who support the interim
âStatement of Principlesâ and are willing to join and pay dues are
welcome to attend and participate in the founding convention.

For more information, including a copy of the RWU Statement of
Principles, please contact the RWU at 206-984-3051: email to ; or see
the website www.railroadworkersunited.org |
info@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx





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