BaltACDOver the past years management has been the horse trainer that has been training his horse to perform without drinking water. Management is then surprised when the horse drops dead from dehydration
Great metaphor!! Sadly, all too true.
Reading that a tentative deal has been reached. Still has to go to vote, but I guess it starts another 60 day cooling off period.
No details yet.
It's been fun. But it isn't much fun anymore. Signing off for now.
The opinions expressed here represent my own and not those of my employer, any other railroad, company, or person.t fun any
From the Trains newswire (may be paywalled for some):
https://www.trains.com/trn/news-reviews/news-wire/freight-railroad-strike-averted-thanks-to-tentative-contract-agreements/
From the article:
"The Washington Post is reporting that the agreement includes new leave policies that that it describes as “a significant concession” by railroads to workers, according to two people familiar with the matter."
I'll be interested to hear how significant Jeff and Zug feel those concessions actually are.
adkrr64I'll be interested to hear how significant Jeff and Zug feel those concessions actually are.
I'll hold my opinion until I get to see the actual agreement.
....and Foote announced he's retiring from CSX. Conincidence?
Kudos to Biden and his team.
https://www.cnn.com/2022/09/15/politics/biden-white-house-railroad-strike/index.html
charlie hebdo Kudos to Biden and his team. https://www.cnn.com/2022/09/15/politics/biden-white-house-railroad-strike/index.html
Amen. Joe Biden has always been a good friend to labor.
Still in training.
zugmann....and Foote announced he's retiring from CSX. Conincidence?
Wondering if his replacement is tied to hedge funds?
Never too old to have a happy childhood!
[quote user="Lithonia Operator"]
charlie hebdo
Kudos to Biden and his team. https://www.cnn.com/2022/09/15/politics/biden-white-house-railroad-strike/index.html
[/quote]
I am happy to hear that there may be a settlement for this impending 'strike' ...It is IMHO , an event, that would be the lead in to a National Crisis in thios country, at a time when it would not be a benefit to anyone.
See a C&P from the above linked article: FTL "...The engineers’ and conductors’ unions say the railroads are requiring their members to be “on call” and ready to report to work on short notice as often as seven days a week. Penalties, based on a points system, can be applied for missing work due to doctors’ appointments or family emergency, the unions say.
The emergency board’s recommendations called for workers to get an immediate 14% pay raise, plus back pay dating back to 2020. It also called for a 24% increase in pay during the five-year life of the contract from 2020 to 2024, and cash bonuses of $1,000 a year.
But it did not address the staffing shortages and scheduling rules that drove the impasse – the critical component of the agreement that Walsh would help the two sides reach Thursday morning..."
Be aware that this 'pending agreement' is basicly, a politically, expedient solution; the devil will be in the details. My caution is that those involved be aware, that what sounds good, may possibly, in its' finality; be nowhere near expectations.
From the start, a major issue was more along the lines of "quality of life issues for the employees, invpolved, money, seemedto be secondarily, of less importance? Work Rules, made more for the Corporate Benefit; and less for those employees directly effected by, porportedly, seemingly, onerous (to them(?) mandated work rules...
It may not yet be time for celebratons(?).....
BaltACD zugmann ....and Foote announced he's retiring from CSX. Conincidence? Wondering if his replacement is tied to hedge funds?
zugmann ....and Foote announced he's retiring from CSX. Conincidence?
I don't think so.. the bio I've seen states he was a high level executive at Ford.
Yeah, that's a very interesting development. Even more so is that he's officially out as CEO before the end of the month. Almost smacks of CN dumping Luc Jobin.
Joe Hinrichs may be the right man for the job.. Coming from GM and Ford, he has a customercentric perspective and experience in working cooperatively with labor. At least so far he's said the right things. Also, an outsider might bring in a fresh perspective. Railroads have been getting alot of pushback from shippers lately.. hiring a former customer to run it is a smart move.
The Grifter-in-chief had nothing to do with it.
So when the RRs raise their shipping rates and that freight goes to trucks and planes, guess who loses their jobs (or have their job replaced by automation)
Lithonia Operator charlie hebdo Kudos to Biden and his team. https://www.cnn.com/2022/09/15/politics/biden-white-house-railroad-strike/index.html Amen. Joe Biden has always been a good friend to labor.
Most of my coworkers wouldn't agree with that. Myself included. (Not that I think the otherside is any better.)
Most think we're going to get it in the shorts again. I'll wait and see what we get. Since the carriers were stonewalling on the items the PEB kicked down the road, we shall see who moved and how far. I know we backed off a bit on some items. Some of the items the carriers wanted could be used to cut more people off.
We shall see. It hasn't been ratified yet.
Jeff
azrail So when the RRs raise their shipping rates and that freight goes to trucks and planes, guess who loses their jobs (or have their job replaced by automation)
Thanks to Chris / CopCarSS for my avatar.
Yep, good job of kicking the can to after the mid terms....
An "expensive model collector"
ns145 zugmann ....and Foote announced he's retiring from CSX. Conincidence? Yeah, that's a very interesting development. Even more so is that he's officially out as CEO before the end of the month. Almost smacks of CN dumping Luc Jobin.
Reminds me even more of Kim Madigan (former CN head of HR, another one of the 'Hunter Youth') conveniently retiring right after our 2019 strike where the company didn't gain anything and lost bigtime in the PR arena.
Greetings from Alberta
-an Articulate Malcontent
UPS. USPS.
Murphy Siding azrail So when the RRs raise their shipping rates and that freight goes to trucks and planes, guess who loses their jobs (or have their job replaced by automation) I don't feel like trucking has any excess capacity right now. What freight do you think is going to switch to airplanes when rail rates go up?
azrail
I don't feel like trucking has any excess capacity right now. What freight do you think is going to switch to airplanes when rail rates go up?
Murphy S.. (Norris)
I can't speak for current trucking industry conditions, been retired for almost as long as I worked in the Industry... But I do follolw, somewhat, as an interested observer. The current published estimates are that the Industry is in a negative position as far as drivers: estimated about 80,000 short. (?) Not to metion how the diesel fuel costs are rising due to the politics playing on the petroleum production, and refining sides of that business..... Portends ugly stuff in the future of truck (and probably(?) other modes of transport ?
Not to mention that the News, is now full of stories how FedEx stock has dropped today, by 15% [It is being said their 'Business" is off that much, in the current economy???]
It then follows: Can U.P.S. be that far behind them? Which then asks the question: "...Wither goest the railroads?" . Sure does not seem to be a bright light, lighting the way for that new "Agreement"..... Just sayin'
It sounds like UPS may face a strike by the Teamsters next year. News outlets are already predicting a long and bitter one.
Of course News outlets like to inflate things to get reader's attention.
Much of the news is reporting that the rail strike/shutdown has been averted, and that a tentative agreement has been made. It makes it sounds as though the entire problem has been solved. But where exactly does this stand?
The constant use of the word, tentative suggests that the agreement has actually not been achieved. I know they would ultimately have to vote on it to finalize an agreement. But before that happens, the parties have to agree to the settlement. If they have agreed to the settlement, it is no longer tentative. So, I must conclude that the tentative agreement only means that the unions are merely considering the latest offer by the railroads, and nothing more.
What about the news saying that the strike has been averted? It has been averted from occurring tomorrow, but if there is not yet any agreement; there is still the possibility of a strike. Is this process now in a new cooling off period? If so, how long does it last?
https://ble-t.org/news/blet-smart-td-reach-tentative-agreement-with-railroads/
From above:
"Early this morning following nearly three years of bargaining, the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET), a Division of the Rail Conference of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, and the Transportation Division of the International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail, and Transportation Workers (SMART-TD) reached a tentative National Agreement with the nation’s largest freight rail carriers which includes wage increases, bonuses, and no increases to insurance copays and deductibles. For the first time our Unions were able to obtain negotiated contract language exempting time off for certain medical events from carrier attendance policies. Our Unions will now begin the process of submitting the tentative agreement to the rank and file for a ratification vote by the memberships of both unions."
I've heard it's a 60 day cooling off period, but I haven't seen that officially said yet.
As of almost 7pm, the details still haven't been posted.
In other words...expect to pay even more for everything due to higher shipping costs!
azrail In other words...expect to pay even more for everything due to higher shipping costs!
I mean, that is already happening. But keep spewing your hatred.
Sorry, but the true costs of rail labor were not being accounted for. When costs get artificially suppressed, the market has a way of getting things back to equilibrium akin to the snapping of a very thick rubber band.
Let's address rest days. Our lists have rest days. 6/2 rotating. The problem is the "2" rest days are a 48 hour period.
Now let's say I work a 7am M-F local ( I wish). Even if I make the full 12 Friday and work until 7pm, I don't have to show up until 7am Monday. That's 60 hours.
But on an extra list where you have to be tied to a phone (they will miscall you after 10 mins), you only get 48 off. And half the time you work into it, with your 48 starting when you tie up. So your "weekend" may get pushed back half a day, and you don't know it until you actually go off on rest. And then you get home, sleep some, and maybe have a day and a third to do anything before you need to get rest before you get called out (which can happen the second your rest days are up).
When we had 7on/3off trial rest cycle about 20 years ago on the extra boards, the off days started at 8am on the first day. If you worked into the rest cycle, your time off was extended by that amount. (I never planned anything important on the first day of the days off. I still don't for the first day of vacation.) So if you worked until 8am the second day of your rest cycle, something quite possible if you caught a pool turn to the other end of the road and had to layover, you were off until 8am on the fourth day from the day you were supposed to start the off days.
6 and 2 would work best for pools, but I would like to see a definite start time like we had with the 7 and 3.
One thing we still have from that trial period, that's long since been abandoned (about 20 or so years), is that if you are off for 72 or more consecutive hours and you mark up between 1030pm and 630am, you are placed in non-rested (as opposed to undisturbed rest) status until 759am. They can call you for 759am at the earliest.
azrail The Grifter-in-chief had nothing to do with it. So when the RRs raise their shipping rates and that freight goes to trucks and planes, guess who loses their jobs (or have their job replaced by automation)
Your Anti-Labor bias is showing, again. You couldn't give a moderate Democrat credit for at least getting both sides to compromise if your life depended on it, which it might.
.
As I understand it, the machininist 'rank and file' has already voted to reject their negotiated 'deal'. And all it takes is one; the others won't (and shouldn't) cross picket lines without a far better reason than Government sanction...
Not sure I understand on what grounds any of these organizations think their membership is going to ratify the "deals" made so far. While the railroaders here may not by 'typical', I think their opinions speak for a very substantial percentage of their brothers and sisters. Especially not if the actual workers can coerce effective "action" on their very valid concerns in the 'window' leading up to the midterm elections.
Yes, I think much of this is carefully scripted theatre. But I don't know if 'the fix is already in'...
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