On Sunday, September 26, the wives and families of BLE engineers working for BNSF held an extremely successful march and rally in Ft. Worth, Texas, as part of the union's mobilization effort against the BNSF's Availability Policy.
The rally was held directly across from the Burlington Northern Santa Fe's Network Operations Center, and was attended by approximately 250 supporters of the BLE's position.
Members and their families are opposed to the Policy because it severely affects their safety, health, well-being and quality of family life.
BLE engineers and their family members carry picket signs outside of BNSF's Network Operations Center in Ft. Worth, Texas, to protest the railroad's "Availability Policy."
Arbitration hearings were scheduled on the policy for October 14, and results are not yet available. As of press time, an arbitration decision was expected by November 1.
Under the Policy, some employees can be forced to work up to 360 hours per month, or 30 12-hour days. It allows some BNSF employees only one day off per month, which may be denied, without justification, at the whim of management. If the employee takes time off due to fatigue, the employee is subject to discipline.
Along with these wives, children and employees, three local television stations from the Dallas-Ft. Worth area attended. Media coverage of the event was handled by Diane Banton, the wife of Mark Banton, a member of BLE Division 500 (Cleburne, Texas). Mrs. Banton was chosen by the members as a spokesperson.
According to the account of BLE Division 462 Alternate Secretary-Treasurer Ron Hager, the media followed the BLE marchers "every step of the way."
The rally in Ft. Worth was part of the BLE's system-wide mobilization effort to combat the Availability Policy. Other prongs in the attack included letter writing campaigns to FRA Administrator Jolene Molitoris and Congressman James Oberstar (D-MN). There was another rally in Alliance, Neb.
In addition, members flooded the office of BNSF CEO Rob Krebs with fax, telephone, and e-mail messages.
BLE supporters and members carried signs with slogans such as: "Better Not Start a Family," "12 Hours a day X 28 days a month = BNSF Availability Policy, a disaster waiting to happen," and "Ron Krebs your policy destroys families."
A spokesman for the carrier told the media that the employees only work 40 hours a week, but the policy states otherwise. The policy states that for a seven day a week assignment, employees are allowed up to two days per month.
BLE President Ed Dubroski had words of praise for the participants.
"Our BNSF brothers and sisters have set the course for how we need to address quality of life issues," he said. "I congratulate them on their effort and when our message on fatigue and the carriers' refusal to bargain is delivered on Capitol Hill, I can promise that the government will know that Ft. Worth was only the tip of the iceberg."
Rail labor unions have joined forces once again to support legislation that would provide guaranteed time off for all their members.
The legislation, which is in the form of an amendment to Section 21103 of title 49, United States Code, would guarantee 72 hours off duty time for each period of seven consecutive days worked or on-call for work. The 72 hours of off duty time is optional and employees can voluntarily work during that time if they choose, but under the proposed amendment, they cannot be forced to work during that time.
On October 7, BLE State Legislative Board Chairmen took time off from political training at the George Meany Center in Silver Spring, Md., to lobby on Capitol Hill and drum up support for the proposed legislation.
"I was serious when I made my promise that we wouldn't let the carriers play games when it came to the work/rest guidelines we signed back in March," BLE International President Edward Dubroski said. "This legislation is a direct result of the BNSF Availability Policy and is one of our ways to combat it."
All rail unions governed by the Federal Hours of Service Act are working together on the amendment. The push to lobby Congress for implementation of the legislation will be handled jointly by all involved rail labor unions. The proposed amendment itself is the result of a joint rail-labor effort and is not the property of any one single union.
The U.S. Code would be amended by adding the following subsection:
"(d) Additional Limitation. -- A railroad carrier and its officers and agents may not require a train employee who has been on duty or available for duty for any portion of each of 7 consecutive days to go on duty or be available for duty until at least 72 consecutive hours have passed after the employee is released from duty or from being available for duty."
During the last week in September, the BLE and all of rail labor, except for the UTU, received both good and bad news from Capitol Hill.
The bad news is that the renomination of anti-labor Surface Transportation Board Chairman Linda Morgan moved to the Senate floor. The good news is that legislation has been introduced in the Senate that would end the STB's harmful "cram down" policy.
On September 28, rail labor (except UTU) stood in opposition to the renomination of Morgan, but, in spite of the lobbying done by BLE members, her nomination moved to the Senate floor.
"Under the Chairmanship of Ms. Morgan, the STB has chosen to break existing collective bargaining agreements in a variety of rail transactions and mergers," says BLE Vice-President & U.S. National Legislative Representative Leroy Jones. "These 'cram down' decisions approved by Chairman Morgan have been devastating to rail workers and their families. Moreover, these decisions strike at the very heart of the collective bargaining process."
The AFL-CIO Executive Council joined with the BLE to unanimously oppose the reappointment of Ms. Morgan. In their statement, they said, "(railroad mergers) have created mega-railroad corporations with enormous power over railroad workers.... (T)he ICC and the STB have approved conditions that permitted these large railroad corporations to break, alter or modify existing private collective bargaining agreements causing harm to thousands of railroad workers... and pervert federal labor policy under the Railway Labor Act."
Fortunately, Rail Labor succeeded in getting a bipartisan "hold" on Morgan's nomination, which forces it to a floor vote where Rail Labor's political allies will fight the renomination.
Now on to the good news. One day later, the BLE stood proudly with all rail labor and announced our support for a bill introduced in the Senate that would end "cram down" and stop the STB from modifying labor agreements.
The Surface Transportation Board Improvement Act of 1999, introduced by Senator Michael Crapo (R-Idaho) and co-sponsored by Sens. Max Cleland (D-GA), Tim Johnson (D-SD), Richard Durbin (D-IL) and Ben Nighthorse Campbell (R-CO), would take away the STB's ability to "break, modify, alter, override or abrogate, in whole or in part, any provision of any collective bargaining agreement or implementing agreement made between the rail carrier and an authorized representative of the employees of the rail carrier under the Railway Labor Act."
"My bill ends the STB's foray into labor relations," Crapo said in a statement. "It is aimed at correcting an injustice for railroad workers, shippers and anyone who has a contractual relationship with the railroad."
"Collective bargaining agreements go to the very essence of the labor relations process," added Crapo. "They are the result of hard-fought deliberations between labor and management, and of a give and take process which often results in no winners or losers. While the process is not perfect, collective bargaining agreements do not come lightly and they should be honored not subject to change by a federal agency."
The BLE is currently seeking more co-sponsors in the Senate and sponsors for a House bill with the exact same wording.
BLE International President Edward Dubroski applauded the bill as something long overdue.
"The Surface Transportation Board and its predecessor have made a mockery of collective bargaining in the railroad industry over the past 15 years," said Dubroski. "I congratulate Senators Crapo, Cleland, Johnson, Durbin and Campbell for acknowledging that contracts signed by labor unions are no less worthy of enforcement than other contracts in America.
"Rail labor has suffered severely in the past 20 years as management was deregulated, but rail labor wasn't; S.1590 is the first step to restoring some balance."
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