Los Angeles, CA
AFL-CIO rail affiliates are gearing up for the next round of national collective bargaining, which is set to commence in the fall of 1999. Because of the substantial interaction between Railway Labor Act (RLA) collective bargaining and the political process, and the fact that the outcome of these negotiations will have a profound effect on the entire labor movement's mission to maintain high labor standards for all working families, the AFL-CIO pledges its full support to the rail unions in their effort to secure strong contracts for their members.
Unfortunately, past negotiations have typically resulted in stalemates, which eventually spilled into Congress and the Executive Branch. The eventuality of political involvement in rail bargaining arises out of the provisions of the RLA, which allow the National Mediation Board (NMB) to determine bargaining schedules and to hold the parties at the bargaining table well past the point where productive negotiations can occur. Although under the law the NMB's intervention is initially voluntary, the fact is that the NMB always becomes involved unless an early deal is reached.
Knowing that the arduous mechanism governing bargaining and imposing often endless mediation favors their bargaining strategy, the railroad companies historically use this process to protract bargaining with hopes of compelling the unions to accept agreements they would not otherwise accept. As such, the railroads have no incentive to bargain in good faith or to reach early settlements. Throughout the process, often taking years to complete, workers are denied long-overdue wage increases and at the same time are barred from exercising their right to self-help. The fact is that in an era where the railroad corporations condemn government regulation, those same corporations insist on strictly regulated labor relations with hopes that the labor movement unilaterally disarms in the event of confrontation.
This perversion of collective bargaining by the nation's major railroads must not be tolerated. The AFL-CIO therefore pledges to assist its rail affiliates in the political and legislative arena and in the bargaining process to ensure railroad workers are treated fairly and obtain timely and just contract settlements.