Railroaders place to shoot the shit.

PHILADELPHIA - The UTU and other rail labor organizations have gone to federal court here to obtain an order halting the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) from unilaterally reneging on its responsibilities to injured workers under the Federal Employers' Liability Act (FELA).

A federal district court here was told by the labor organizations Jan. 16 that the SEPTA is in violation of three separate federal statutes, and cannot unilaterally abandon its responsibilities under the FELA.

On Jan. 15, the SEPTA informed the UTU and other rail labor organizations that, in its opinion, the FELA does not apply to that interstate commuter railroad. The SEPTA assertion is based on a local court decision.

The SEPTA asserts that under that local court decision, the SEPTA shares with the State of Pennsylvania, "sovereign immunity," and thus must provide permission to be sued.

As such, the SEPTA says it chooses not to be sued, under provisions of the FELA, by employees injured on the job; but rather the SEPTA will process workplace injury claims under the Pennsylvania Workers' Compensation Act. Such benefits are far inferior to those available under the FELA.

In pursing injunctive relief -- a federal court order halting the SEPTA from abandoning its responsibilities under the FELA -- the rail labor organizations point to the SEPTAs obligations under the FELA, the recently enacted Rail Safety Improvement Act of 2008, and the Railway Labor Act.

The labor organizations told the court that:

* Section 51 of the FELA provides that "Every common carrier by railroad while engaging in commerce between any of the several States ... shall be liable in damages to any person suffering injury ... or death ... while he is employed by such carrier in commerce ... resulting in whole or in part from the negligence of any of the officers, agents, or employees of such carrier, or by reason of any defect or insufficiency, due to its negligence ..."

* Section 55 of the FELA provides that "Any contract, rule, regulation, or device whatsoever, the purpose or intent of which shall be to enable any common carrier to exempt itself from any liability created by [the FELA], shall to that extent be void."

* Section 20109 of the Rail Safety Improvement Act of 2008 provides that a rail carrier "may not deny, delay or interfere with the medical or first aid treatment of an employee who is injured during the course of employment." Yet, the Pennsylvania workers' compensation laws provide that an employee injured on the job must be treated by a doctor of the employers rather than the employees choosing. This would violate the SEPTA's obligations under the Rail Safety Improvement Act of 2008.

* The Railway Labor Act requires that a carrier wishing to alter the established rates of pay, rules or working conditions must serve notice to that effect and collectively bargain over the proposed changes, and not unilaterally alter a collective bargaining agreement. In fact, the labor organizations' collective bargaining agreements with the SEPTA recognize the right of SEPTA employees to pursue claims under the FELA. Thus, by unilaterally asserting that its contract employees will no longer be covered by the FELA, the SEPTA has changed the collective bargaining agreements without first exhausting the bargaining procedures under the Railway Labor Act.

The labor organizations asked the federal district court to find the SEPTA in violation of the FELA, the Rail Safety Improvement Act of 2008 and the Railway Labor Act.

Additionally, the labor organizations asked the court to grant a preliminary and permanent injunction requiring the SEPTA to "cease and desist from its unlawful conduct;" to honor its obligations under the FELA, the Rail Safety Improvement Act and the Railway Labor Act; to restore and maintain the status quo as it existed prior to the SEPTA's unlawful actions; and to refrain from taking any action to change its collective bargaining agreements without the unions consent or until the carrier has exhausted the major dispute procedures of the Railway Labor Act.