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[quote]QUOTE: Originally posted by CSSHEGEWISCH One issue which has been noticeably absent in all the discussions regarding open access on various threads is how the concept would be viewed by organized labor and how it would be sold to them. I would believe that the whole concept would be viewed (not unreasonably) as a giant union-busting tactic so labor relations issues and the applicability of the Railway Labor Act to new operators also need to be considered. [/quote] You bring up an interesting observation, and frankly one that has no obvious answer. On the one hand, it is likely that some new OA operators would be non-union (like some short lines and regionals are now), and their lower labor costs my give them a cost advantage over a traditionally rail union operation. You may even see an operation employ a rival union like the Teamsters as train operators. On the other hand, if indeed OA resulted in an increase in railroad market share and total increased rail employment, then a whole new pool of labor is available to buttress the numbers of the union. One of the big problems Big Labor is facing is the loss of their percentage of total labor employed in the U.S. as manufacturing jobs go overseas. If OA resulted in more manufacturing jobs staying or developing here, it definitely helps Labor's cause aside from railroading. All they have to do is make union membership something workers want to aspire to like they did in the old days, and the result would be non-union labor voting to form or join a union. What we do know in the trucking industry is that despite non-union drivers, union drivers are still getting a good share of the trucking market. Of course, what's going to raise trucking wages now is simply the fact that truck drivers are in high demand, and trucking firms will have to pony up more money to attract and keep the good drivers. Could work the same with OA if it results in more demand for qualified train drivers than can initially be supplied. The more demand there is for people of a certain craft, the more bargaining power the representative union has.
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