On May 9 the House Transportation & Infrastructure Subcommittee on Railroads approved ("marked up") by voice vote HR 1140, the Railroad Retirement & Survivors’ Improvement Act of 2001. The full T&I Committee approved the bill on May 16 and completed its report giving a full explanation of the legislation on May 24. After a committee completes its report, no more co-sponsors can be added to the legislation. HR 1140 has 363 co-sponsors compared to 306 for last session’s bill, HR 4844. Also on May 24 the House referred HR 1140 to the Ways and Means Committee with action to be taken within 45 days (by July 11).

On the Senate side the same legislation, S 697, (still in the Finance Committee at the beginning of June) had 62 co-sponsors, 43 of which are Democrat. The majority in the Senate returned to the Democrats as a result of Senator James Jeffords leaving the Republican Party and becoming an Independent on May 23. This also meant that Senator Tom Daschle, one of the first co-sponsors of S 697 became the Senate Majority Leader, and Senator Max Baucus, the first co-sponsor this session, became chairman of the Finance Committee. As chairman, Senator Baucus is the one who will decide when, and if, the legislation will be considered.

On May 10 the CQ Daily Monitor reported that "Senate opponents cited its cost when they derailed a similar bill last year, after it had been approved by the Senate Finance Committee and passed the House on a 391-25 vote" and now "critics contend that because the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) scores the fund transfer as a budget outlay, it would amount to a costly bailout. Supporters have argued that the CBO uses a faulty scoring mechanism, in that the money would be transferred from one account to another, involving no new taxpayer dollars."

"Unfortunately the bogus cost numbers get a lot of attention in the press," said Jack Quinn (R-NY), a co-sponsor, but "I want to urge all members [of Congress] to work through the scoring issue. It’s the workers’ own money, not ours or the government’s."

After the Subcommittee markup on May 9, the White House sent a letter to House and Senate GOP leaders expressing concern about the legislation’s finance mechanisms and saying one of the principles of the recently president-appointed Commission to Strengthen Social Security is: "Government must not invest Social Security funds in the stock market."

"‘They didn’t read the bill!’ thundered James L. Oberstar," (D-MN), the T&I Committee’s Ranking Democrat. "Or if they did, they had one eye closed! We’re not addressing Social Security funds. Are you listening to me, OMB?" [Office of Management and Budget].

Court Orders BMWE to Give 10-Day Strike Notice

On April 13, 2001, the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas (Judge McBryde) entered a judgement in BNSF et al v. BMWE requiring the BMWE to give 10 days advance notice prior to striking any of the carriers (Burlington Northern Sante Fe, Union Pacific, Kansas City Southern, CSXT and Norfolk Southern). The carriers alleged that BMWE engaged in a pattern and practice of secret strikes.

BMWE has never made a secret of the fact that when, after careful consideration, the organization has concluded that a carrier has made unilateral changes to agreements ("major disputes"), the union can and will withdraw services, and do so in a manner calculated to make the work stoppage as effective as possible.

Unfortunately, the rightward-drift of the federal judiciary has resulted in a situation where District Court judges are often inclined to find "minor" disputes, regardless of the merits, in order to restore transportation services. Even where the District Courts have done the right thing and found a "major dispute," the Circuit Courts have been inclined to reverse the lower courts’ decisions. Further, while not directly affecting BMWE, it is clear the other mode of transportation covered by the Railway Labor Act, the airline industry, has seen multiple judicial interventions calculated to restrain what had heretofore been understood to be lawful self-help.

In 1932, the Congress of the United States passed the Norris LaGuardia Act. Prior to the passage of the Norris LaGuardia Act, judges frequently intervened in labor disputes through the issuance of injunctions that effectively disabled labor and caused employers to prevail. The Norris LaGuardia Act was supposed to withdraw the federal courts from the labor injunction business and, in particular, it was supposed to counter-balance the social and economic views of some judges that led them, in their discretion, to grant lopsided pro-employer injunctions.

In a sense, we have come full circle. The Norris LaGuardia Act has now been so "accommodated" to the Railway Labor Act as to virtually disappear. And the Railway Labor Act, which was supposed to create dispute resolution mechanisms which would minimize the need for strikes and lockouts, has now been reinterpreted to make the prevention of any disruption of transportation services the paramount goal, rather than the desired outcome of orderly dispute resolution mechanisms.

"This decision underscores a frightening tilt of the courts in favor of large corporations, and a growing disregard for the rights of employees. It underscores the necessity of labor to be more politically active than ever. We must be able to elect a Congress which can rescue the Norris LaGuardia Act from the radical surgery undertaken by conservative judges. And, we must have a president who will appoint fair judges, rather than the reactionary activists who rewrite legislation in the service of the wealthier classes," said BMWE President Mac A. Fleming.

"BMWE has been made the subject of this injunction," Fleming said, "because it has been willing to act agressively in defense of its members’ interests. We are appealing this judgement and we cannot allow this hopefully temporary setback to result in a drop of our vigilance or vigor in dealing with the carriers."

Legislation to Aid Shortline Track Work

The Railroad Track Modernization Act of 2001 (HR1020) was introduced by Congressmen Jack Quinn (R-NY), Bob Clement (D-TN) and Spencer Bachus (R-AL) on March 14 and marked up in the House on May 9, 2001.

This legislation would authorize $350 million annually for each fiscal year between 2002 and 2004 for Class II and Class III railroads to rehabilitate, preserve or improve railroad track to ensure the track can be operated safely and sufficiently, particularly when handling 286,000-pound rail cars.

"This bill will ensure that shortline railroads get the funding they need to continue carrying out their vital role in local commerce," said Quinn, Chairman of the Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee on Railroads.

"Our shortline and regional railroads are in desperate need of assistance," said Clement, Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Railroads. "Over the past 20 years these railroads have come to the aid of numerous communities across the nation ... federal financial assistance is essential if we are to save these tracks for future purposes."

The AFL-CIO Transportation Trades Department Rail Labor Division is working hard to see that the legislation provides for New York Dock protections.

Fifth Anniversary of Labor Party Founding Convention

Five years ago this month, from June 6-9, 1996, over 1,400 delegates (including over 50 from the BMWE) from 250 international and local unions and AFL-CIO councils met in Cleveland to form the Labor Party.

In 1996, the Labor Party program identified many crucial issues for working people. Sadly, the concerns and the Labor Party’s analyses have been deadly accurate. We have witnessed an industrial and social meltdown advanced by economic and trade policies designed by and for corporate and monied interests.

Evidence of the need for a strong Labor Party has never been more compelling which is why the Labor Party designated June 6-10, 2001 as Organizing Week: Five Years Strong, Five Days For Our Future.

A few examples:

In 2001, our decades-old health care crisis continues. Recent reports show that more than 44 million people lack access to health care and that premiums have increased by 8.3%. George W. Bush has now proposed that programs providing a minimal safety net for those without health care be cut from the budget.

Last year the China Permanent Normal Trade Relations legislation was passed by Congress. It is estimated to ultimately result in the loss of close to 900,000 U.S. jobs.

Unprecedented corporate mergers and acquisitions across national boundaries have continued and we confront the growing concentration of global corporate power.

Fast Track legislation for a Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) is surfacing this year. We know the price for NAFTA: 400,000 U.S. jobs lost and a 40% real wage drop for Mexican workers. FTAA will bring more economic disasters for workers.

The U.S. continues to have the smallest proportion of private sector workers covered by union contracts. Rights guaranteed to all citizens — freedom of speech, of assembly and of association — don’t exist for American workers. Our health and safety is suffering too — an "evenly divided" U.S. Senate recently voted 56 to 44 to repeal the ergonomics standard passed in the last days of the Clinton Administration. The current Administration promises more attacks on worker rights.

The Labor Party’s vision is an America where everyone who wants to work has a job at a living wage, where laws protect our rights to organize and strike, where the wealthy and corporations pay their fair share of taxes, where quality health care is a right and where solidarity puts an end to bigotry.

The BMWE is proud to be a founding member of the Labor Party as an organization and encourages all members to join the Labor Party where their support will turn the Labor Party’s vision into reality.

To get more information or to join, call the Labor Party toll-free at 1-888-44LABOR or call 202-234-5190, or fax 202-234-5266, or write P.O. Box 53177, Washington, DC 20009.

JOIN THE LABOR PARTY TODAY!