(The Associated Press circulated the following article on September 7. Brother Bloedow is the Local Chairman of BLET Division 937 in Toledo.)
TOLEDO, Ohio — Striking Northwest Airlines Corp. employees set up a picket line at a rail yard to bring attention to their labor dispute, slowing freight train traffic in northwest Ohio.
Striking workers expanded their picket line to the CSX Transportation Inc. rail yard Tuesday afternoon. They said the move was legal under the Railway Labor Act that governs labor relations with airlines.
Members of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen who operate the rail yard refused to cross the picket line, stopping train cars from departing the yard, said Rod Bloedow, local chairman of union.
“This is not our action,” he said. “But our members will not cross an active picket line.”
Bob Rose, president of the airline’s mechanics union local in Detroit, said the picket line at the rail yard was an attempt to disrupt Detroit-bound CSX freight. The rail yard in Toledo distributes freight across the Midwest.
CSX would not say how many trains have been halted. The company plans to ask a court for a temporary restraining order Wednesday, said spokesman Gary Sease.
Northwest mechanics, cleaners and custodians have been on strike since Aug. 20, when their contract with the company expired.
Northwest wants to cut their wages by about 25 percent and lay off some 2,000 workers, primarily cleaners and custodians. The union, representing 4,427 workers at Northwest, doesn’t like the offer.
Northwest, based in Eagan, Minn., is the nation’s fourth-largest carrier. It has a hub at Detroit Metropolitan Airport.