Railroaders place to shoot the shit.

Mistah · D.O.A.

Dropping Turns Issue

Calvin · Upgraded Condition?

Mistah wrote:
Got this in email, sharing with everybody.
Also the union solidarity probably doesnt go in the csx topic but i am too lazy to post twice

About that solidarity thing...Here's what the other side of the utu's mouth says...

Tuesday, May 31, 2005

UTU Mafia Looking for a few good Informers

Some are arguing that US Labor law needs to be changed to "level the playing field" so that labor can get a fair shake. In particular, an environment where bosses have almost free reign to say almost anything to the captive audience of their workforce while working stiffs can be restricted in their possibly Constitutional Right to speak, associate and organize in the workplace, well, that just ain't fair or right. As an example, we have the Norfolk Southern issuing an edict attempting to influence the current A-card campaign by prohibiting "solicitation of any type, including recruitment and/or union organizing among agreement employees" on NS private property.

Amidst this nonsense comes an astounding post on UURR, a letter from UTU Cleveland to all NS Local Officers and Chairpersons hinting that they spy on their union brothers and hoping that they snitch out any violators of this NS company policy who dare to talk union on the job. You may think the NS A-card campaign is as stupid as UTU's UP NMB petition, you may think it's all about a down and dirty fight for dues-paying members, but UTU must think itself incapable of winning such a fight on the merits in a free and open debate. Good political tactics or the acts of desperate men? You decide. But I think most of us would draw a line at snitching out a union brother, no matter what organization he pays his dues to.

Just remember when the going gets tough the utu says....
TESTtest

May 27, 2005

Freddie Krueger · Unstable & Irrational

Pissed away a half million dollars on this Tin man merger. I will not give them dues for stupid shit.

Snippy · Force Majeure

Snippy is having quite a bit of difficulty seeing this from an organization that has single handedly done everything it can do to totally eliminate the craft of yard engineer from the American landscape and restricted my free speech right to talk about it in the workplace.... Sorry. Thousands of yard engineer assignments lost. For what? 46 minutes added to a trainman's day. God damned right I'm bitter.

-- Edited by Snippy at 15:13, 2009-02-28

Calvin · Upgraded Condition?

http://www.utu.org/worksite/detail_news.cfm?ArticleID=21488

UTU seeks winner-take-all vote on UP

Today, May 27, the United Transportation Union (UTU) is sending the National Mediation Board (NMB) a representation application seeking a winner-take-all representation election among train and engine service employees on Union Pacific Railroad (UP).
Currently, the UTU represents UP train service employees (about 14,000), while the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen, a division of the predominantly truck drivers' Teamsters Union, represents UP engine service employees (about 9,000), for collective bargaining on UP, although UTU has many engine service members.

UTU contends that new technology and other factors, such as the line of progression from train service to engine service, have blurred historical craft distinctions to create a single craft or class of train and engine service employees on UP.

A similar UTU request made in January 1998 was denied by the NMB in February 2000, after three NMB-appointed arbitrators concluded that "the conditions here present do not support an order for the Board to impose a single craft or class."

Much has changed since that ruling.

-- There are now well over 1,000 remote control assignments on UP manned by train service employees.

-- Remote control is used in nearly 70 percent of all jobs in UP terminals.

-- The number of train and engine service employees who are cross-utilized between train and engine service has been increasing steadily. It is not uncommon for a UP operating employee to work some days of a week in train service, and other days in engine service, depending upon the UP's oft-shifting manpower requirements.

Moreover, subsequent to its 2000 ruling on the previous request involving UP, the NMB found a single class or craft of train and engine service employees to exist on other railroads, including Terminal Railroad Association of St. Louis, the Paducah & Louisville Railway, the Manufacturers' Railroad, and the Texas-Mexican Railway. The UTU won three of those winner-take-all elections; the BLET one.

Additionally, the NMB said in 2002 -- in a case involving Kansas City Southern Railway -- that the railroad workplace not only is changing, but that technology "could ultimately result in a combined craft or class of train and engine service employees." In fact, the NMB said, "the UTU is not precluded from applying for a combined craft or class of train and engine service employees in the future."

"There is an overriding community of interest among operating employees," said UTU International President Paul Thompson. "This is a consequence of reduced crew consists, the creation of the single line of progression from trainmen to engineers, the incidental work rules applicable to train and engine service employees, the ebb-and-flow of work, the fact that trainmen and engineers are part of a single operating unit with joint and equal responsibility for the operation of the train, and the increasing use of remote control technology

/download.spark?ID=435778&forumID=105367

/download.spark?ID=435778&forumID=105367

http://www.utu.org/worksite/detail_news.cfm?ArticleID=21488

Question...UTU again is trying to destroy the craft of conductor and engineer by going to the NMB and trying to get us all ruled one craft - much like the carriers wanted in their section 6 notices.

BLET on the other other hand lets the workers decide on the NS whether they want a representation vote. The BLET isn't attempting to combine crafts, but asking the workers who they want to represent them. Just like the UTU tried on the CP and lost to the BLE. At least the craft were preserved.

UTU is afraid to pass out A-Cards on the UP and thus goes to the NMB asking them to rule us all one class. Why can't the UTU let the UP workers decide who they want to represent them by passing out A-Card to get a representation vote and preserve the crafts. Instead the UTU is set on destroying the historical crafts by wanting the NMB to declare us one craft to get a vote.

BLET prepared for UTU attack

CLEVELAND, May 27 -- BLET National President Don Hahs issued the following statement today.

We are aware of the United Transportation Unions intent to yet again petition the National Mediation Board for a single-craft representation election at the Union Pacific Railroad.

BLET members should rest assured that we have notified our legal counsel in Washington, D.C., of the UTUs action and plan to take appropriate steps to defend our organization. To the best of our knowledge, nothing has changed in the railroad industry since the UTU tried unsuccessfully to raid BLE by forcing a single craft representation election on the Kansas City Southern Railway in 2002.

We are confident that we will prevail in this matter, as we did on the Union Pacific on February 29, 2000, and the Kansas City Southern on August 14, 2002.

Troll · 500 - Internal Server Error

Nothing but a bunch of No Bills and Free Riders.

Railroaders place to shoot the shit.

This is the official end of my post.

This is the official end of my post.