(The following story by Joie Tyrrell appeared on the Newsday website on January 26.)
NEW YORK — Long Island Rail Road engineers could strike as early as next week after railroad officials said they plan to use outside labor to move trains in a Queens maintenance yard, the leader of the engineers union said yesterday.
Robert Evers, general chairman of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen, said the union received two letters from the LIRR saying it will not negotiate the dispute and that the railroad has violated “neither the contract nor the law and has acted in good faith.” The railroad could start using outside labor at the Arch Street Yard by Tuesday, the letter said.
“If somebody else moves a piece of equipment, we’re walking,” Evers said from his Hicksville office.
But railroad officials said the dispute does not warrant a strike and are prepared to act against the union. Under the federal Railway Labor Act, which permits strikes only after extensive mediation, the LIRR could seek a temporary restraining order from federal court to halt a labor action.
“It’s unquestionably a minor dispute,” said LIRR spokesman Brian Dolan. “We have offered arbitration and to meet with him at any time. If he continues to threaten a strike, we will move to go to federal court.”
At issue is the lease of the Arch Street Yard in Long Island City, where warranty maintenance work will be performed on the new M-7 cars. The railroad leased the yard to the cars’ Canadian manufacturer, Bombardier, which will use its employees at no cost to the LIRR to move trains in the yard for warranty work.
But Evers said yesterday the union considers the contracting of outside work a major dispute under the provisions of the Railway Labor Act. Evers said the railroad would violate the law if it allowed non-union labor to move trains.
LIRR officials say they believed they have not violated the “status quo” provision of the Railway Labor Act. “There has been no change in this instance due to the fact that railroads have always had the right to lease trackage and facilities,” said G.M. Moran, vice president of labor relations, in a letter to Evers.
A wildcat strike by engineers in 1995 crippled the railroad, stranding thousands. Commuter advocates said yesterday that riders would be the ones to pay if a strike occurs.
“Railroad management is always extremely level-headed when dealing with its employees,” said James McGovern, chairman of the LIRR Commuter’s Council, a rider’s advocacy group. “I think it would be selfish and reckless for the engineers to go on strike, particularly during the winter.”
Beverly Dolinsky, executive director of the council, warned: “A strike wreaks havoc. … They are not going to get any sympathy from the riders.”