Labor Day 2014:
Railroad Workers are on the Move!
Dear Railroad Sisters &
Brothers:
Whether you are off work or on
the job on Monday, please take the time to honor, remember and celebrate Labor
Day. This is our day!
So much of what we workers take for granted today --
overtime pay, holiday pay, vacations, sick leave, workers’ comp and FELA,
railroad retirement, safer working conditions, the basic 8-hour day, seniority
and more – only came about because workers came together, organized and fought
for these things collectively. If it were not for our solidarity, we would have
none of the above, and there certainly would be no such thing as Labor Day
itself.
But Labor Day has mostly
become a day for picnics and barbeques, political stumping and speech making,
posturing and "remembering" our heritage.
But what if we were to put
some life into Labor Day?
What if we were to take joint actions with our allies
who understand that single employee crews are a danger to all? What if we were
to show the corporations, their politicians and union leaders that we are not
simply going to "honor and remember" on Labor Day? What if we were to
show our power, and picket, demonstrate, strike and occupy?
The last few weeks have witnessed the awakening of rail labor.
In response to the suicidal tentative
agreement on the BNSF, railroaders have mobilized like we haven’t in years.
Many have found their voice, and have expressed themselves loud and clear that
they will not accept single employee operations of trains. Engineers and
trainmen – together with other crafts – have come together and staged raucous
meetings, pickets, rallies and demonstrations all designed to defeat the
tentative agreement that would open the door to single employee train
operations.
Given the breadth and scope
of this extraordinary fight back movement, we expect the BNSF tentative
agreement to be soundly defeated. But whether it is adopted or rejected, the
cat is out of the bag. The cards are now squarely on the table. The Class I
rail carriers have made clear their desire and intent to run road trains with a
single employee … and our unions have shown themselves to be hopelessly divided
and ill-equipped to wage the battle necessary to defend our safety and our
jobs.
So while we rank and file
workers continue to fight with everything we have to defeat this attack, we
understand that this fight is simply but one battle in the war. Once the votes
are counted – win or lose – railroad workers must go on the offensive. We are
under a vicious attack brothers and sisters! We can no longer hide our heads in
the sand and pretend that everything will be OK.
So let’s stop crying and
whining about our jobs. Let’s no longer sit on our hands and hopelessly wait
for some politician, government agency or union official to solve our problems
for us. Let’s take the bull by the horns, speak out and act together, make our
demands known, and let our power be realized. If we are to defeat the single
employee crew initiative, it is going to be us – the rank and file railroad
workers – who do it.
On this Labor Day, you will
see lots of American flags flying. You will hear lots of politicians bucking
for your vote. And you will see lots of hot dogs frying on the grill. But
please remember, all this has little to do with the true spirit of Labor Day.
This day is really about working people and our struggle – through strikes,
boycotts, picket lines, sit-ins, occupations and more – to further the cause of
rank-and-file workers. RWU is proud to be part of that great tradition of
working people fighting back against corporate power. We invite you to join us
in the fight. The future is now.
Solidarity forever!
Ron Kaminkow
RWU General Secretary
