How to defeat the government-union sellout and put workers in control
The following statement was issued by the Railroad Workers Rank-and-File Committee (RWRFC), formed by railroad workers to organize and unite their struggle independently of the union apparatus.
The RWRFC is hosting a public meeting on Wednesday, September 28 at 7:00 p.m. Eastern Time entitled “Organize Independently to Defeat the Government- and Union-Backed Sellout!” All railroad workers and their supporters are invited to participate participate and Register for the meeting here.
To join the Railroad Workers Rank-and-File Committee, email [email protected] or Text (314) 529-1064.
Brothers and sisters,
The state-brokered deal announced by the unions has no support from the railroad workers. We’re constantly discovering new concessions that make it even worse than the PEB (Presidential Emergency Board), including automated supply scheduling for shipyard workers, extreme restrictions on when we can take time off for doctor’s appointments, and even a cap on the healthcare contributions of shippers who deduct them from our additional payment in the next contract.
The unions know full well that the deal is massively unpopular. It is a blatant violation of the members’ will, expressed in a three-point resolution passed by 500 workers at our last public meeting on September 14, which violated the unions just hours later.
But they have no intention of yielding to the democratic will of the members. They are even willing to override a “no” vote and enforce the contract through binding arbitration, leaked to the press last week. They are also postponing voting for engineers and conductors after the midterm elections to strengthen Congress’s hand should they issue an injunction. In fact, the endless delay itself is a de facto injunction being enforced by Congress and the White House through the unions. Furthermore, there is every reason to believe that they will attempt to ‘pass’ the treaty through voter fraud.
Today, just two days before a self-imposed strike deadline, the IAM announced a “new” contract, identical to the one the machinists had already 60 percent rejected. The union also announced a further extension of the deadline into December. Not a single worker was consulted on this; the machinists had already voted 80 percent for the strike. The IAM extended the deadline because they knew that a strike would bring the entire industry to a standstill as none of the other crafts would cross the picket line.
To add insult to injury, in a Facebook post announcing the agreement and disabling the ability to comment, the IAM had the gall to claim, “Membership will have the final say!” No, as far as the union bureaucrats are concerned, the transport companies and the government have the final say. There is no line that the union bureaucracy, in collusion with the transport companies and the government, will not cross to violate our will and force sell-out contracts down our throats.
We know what they – the government, the railway companies and their accomplices in the unions – will do. The question is: what do we do?
If this conspiracy of carriers, unions and governments is to be defeated, we must be the ones to do it. Nobody else will do it for us: not the media, not the government or the legal system, and certainly not the union bureaucracy.
We are not their helpless toys. We have immense power. Nothing in the country can move without us. They’re more afraid of us than anything else. In a recent interview, Biden yawned at COVID and the threat of nuclear war, but perked up when a rail strike, which he described as “unthinkable,” was unleashed.
But the advantage they have is that they have the organization to strategize against us. Railroad workers are angry and determined, but so far this is disorganized. This can and must be corrected. We must develop new, alternative organizational structures that give us the opportunity to decide together what we must do and act with the discipline and democratic control we need to fight for our rights.
That means building a network of grassroots committees bringing together workers from all 12 unions, all seven Class I railroaders and all terminals and shipyards. Only this kind of organization, consisting only of railroad workers, excluding union officials, and having no irresponsible apparatus, will provide us with the means to refute the decisions of the bureaucracy, enforce democratic oversight of electoral procedures and voting, and prepare for the strikes we are fighting for what we urgently need, not for what the porters want to do without.
We have a world movement of the working class on our side. Workers everywhere are fighting union betrayals and forming grassroots committees to do so. In the past week, the railway workers’ basis committee also received two statements of solidarity from the basis committees of transport workers in Germany.
Here is what we require of our employees at the railways:
- Join us for our meeting called for Wednesday evenings at 7:00 pm EDT: “Independently Organize to Defeat the Government- and Union-Backed Sell-Off!” Sign up here. Tell all your colleagues about it and make sure they plan to attend. Share the page on social media and spread the word!
- Start discussions with your colleagues about setting up a local grassroots committee. Call meetings of your staff to pass resolutions that reflect member sentiment and a common program, and elect grassroots leadership. Union officials should be barred from attending to ensure workers retain control of the committee and that committee activities can be kept confidential.
- Connect your local committee to the National Railroad Workers Rank-and-File Committee. Contact us at [email protected] or text us at (314) 529-1064. We can also assist in forming local meetings.
- Appeal for the widest possible support from workers in other industries. Organize information strikes at major factories and other industrial sites, including docks, airports and warehouses, to develop lines of communication between railroad workers and other critical sections of the working class. Our real allies are not prominent media figures or the corporate press, but the working class, who have the same interests and are fighting against the same conditions as we do.
If you agree with us, join the fight! Contact the RWRFC by email at [email protected] or text (314) 529-1064.
The RWRFC is hosting a public meeting on Wednesday, September 28 at 7:00 p.m. Eastern Time entitled “Organize Independently to Defeat the Government- and Union-Backed Sellout!” All railroad workers and their supporters are invited to participate to participate Register for the meeting here.
The RWRFC is hosting a public meeting on Wednesday, September 28 at 7:00 p.m. Eastern Time entitled “Organize Independently to Defeat the Government- and Union-Backed Sellout!” All railroad workers and their supporters are invited to participate to participate Register for the meeting here.