advertisement

---

Yesterday, the National Carriers’ Conference Committee (NCCC) announced the Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employes Division (BMWED) accepted a proposal to extend the “cooling off” period 60 days beyond Dec. 6, but the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET) and the American Train Dispatchers Association declined. The proposed extension was contingent upon acceptance by all three unions by Nov. 29, so the railroads and unions will be free under the Railway Labor Act to exercise “self-help” on Dec. 6, NCCC officials said in a prepared statement. Self-help refers to a strike or lock out.

The more than 30 U.S. railroads represented by the NCCC — which include the Class Is — so far have reached agreements with 10 rail labor unions covering more than 60 percent of the 132,000 employees affected by the bargaining round. The railroads and eight unions have agreed to implement terms that reflect a Presidential Emergency Board’s (PEB) resolution recommendations, said NCCC Chairman A. Kenneth Gradia.

“The railroads have made and will continue to make every effort to reach agreements with the remaining three unions,” he said. “We urge the remaining unions to reach agreements with the railroads before Dec. 6.”

Instead of agreeing to extend the cooling-off period until Feb. 8, the BLET chose to continue its effort to arrive at a voluntary settlement within the timeframe set by the Railway Labor Act even though the BMWED announced earlier last week that it would observe a unilateral extension of the period, said BLET National President Dennis Pierce.

“At this point, an extension would not serve either BLET members or the bargaining process in which we are engaged,” he said. “If an agreement is to be reached, it is now, not some time down the road. Bargaining is at a point where an extension simply will not affect the outcome for BLET members.”

The parties need to reach agreements because a nationwide rail-service disruption during the busiest shipping and travel period of the year “would deal a crushing blow to our nation’s economy, potentially costing our country $2 billion a day,” said Gradia.

National Retail Federation (NRF) officials agree that a rail strike during the busy holiday shopping season could be devastating. That’s why they recently sent a letter to Congress asking lawmakers to be prepared to step in if rail labor unions issue strikes next week.

“It is imperative that Congress recognize the severe economic harm threatened by the failure to reach agreement with the remaining rail unions and move quickly to prevent a rail strike that would prove devastating to both businesses and consumers,” said NRF President and Chief Executive Officer Matthew Shay in a prepared statement.

Even a one-day strike at such a crucial time would create a sustained backlog that could clog the transportation system for weeks, NRF officials said. In addition, other transportation modes would be unable to assume the extra volume and the effects could potentially linger into the spring selling season, they said.

“If the railroads and unions do not agree to the non-binding recommendations made by a Presidential Emergency Board by next week’s deadline, President Obama could send a bill to Congress imposing the settlement on both sides, [and] Congress could also move such legislation on its own,” NRF officials said.

Last week, the National Industrial Transportation League also urged Congress to quickly consider and apply the terms of the PEB’s recommendations on both railroads and unions if they fail to reach agreements by Dec. 6 and begin to issue strikes or lockouts.

Meanwhile, House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio), Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) and Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) issued a joint statement yesterday stating they would act to prevent a work stoppage if the NCCC and unions fail to reach tentative agreements by Dec. 6.

“While our hope is that the parties involved will find common ground and resolve the situation without congressional involvement, the House is prepared to take legislative action in the days ahead to avert a job-destroying shutdown of our nation’s railroads, in the event such legislation proves necessary,” they said. “A shutdown of our nation’s railways, which would harm our economy and endanger many American jobs, is unacceptable.”