(The following story by Lois Caliri appeared on The Roanoke Times website on January 5.)
ROANOKE, Va. — Seven rail unions, in a historic move Monday, joined forces to create a coalition to strengthen their bargaining power at the negotiating table with a federal committee that represents the railroads.
“We have more strength and can negotiate a better contract for our members,” said George Francisco, coordinator of the coalition and president of the National Conference of Firemen & Oilers.
But not all unions are on board with the coalition, citing competition among themselves and unresolved contract issues as some of the reasons.
The Rail Labor Bargaining Coalition, consisting of 85,000 rail workers, will negotiate with the National Carriers’ Conference Committee, the bargaining agent for most of the freight railroads, including Norfolk Southern.
Under coalition bargaining, the federal group would bargain with the coalition. Any agreement must be met with 100 percent union approval.
“For the first time in decades, rail unions are joining together to make sure our members get a fair contract,” Francisco said.
The NCCC is reviewing the bargaining coalition proposal and does not discuss bargaining with the media.
The fact that unions are talking as a coalition is not unusual, said Joanna Moorhead, general counsel with the NCCC. “We’re looking forward for bargaining to begin. And we would not comment on any particular proposal.”
The national contracts cover issues such as wage increases, holiday pay, work rules, health and insurance.
What typically happens is that each union negotiates its own contract. The first carrier that signs an agreement then becomes the benchmark for subsequent negotiations, said Francisco. That “divide and conquer” approach would disappear under collective bargaining. Some unions, including the Firemen & Oilers, got shortchanged with substandard agreements, he said.
“The carriers can’t divide us,” Francisco said. “The important thing is we formed a coalition to get a better contract for the employees we represent. This is the best avenue; it’s long overdue for employees to be represented by a coalition.”
Coalition bargaining strengthens the union side at the bargaining table, said Daniel Silverman, an adjunct professor at the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law in New York City. “The unions feel they can deal with the railroads on a more equal basis.” But employers may not choose to collectively bargain with the group.
Traditionally, the Carriers’ Committee has negotiated agreements for its representative railroads on a multi-employer basis. Occasionally, the committee has negotiated with coalition of rail unions on particular issues such as health and welfare.
The United Transportation Union, which represents conductors, wants no part of the new coalition.
Because it negotiated an agreement with the major railroads requiring one conductor on each train, it does not want to compete with another union, namely the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers, which does not have similar protection for its members, said Frank Wilner, spokesman for the UTU.
“If we gave power of attorney to a competing union with no such protection for its members, our protection could possibly be undermined,” Wilner said.
The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers is still deciding whether it wants to join the coalition.
The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers wants to resolve contract issues that go back five years, before joining an effort to resolve new contract issues.
The Rail Labor Bargaining Coalition includes these railroad unions: