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Railroads
 From
the steam engines of the 19th Century to the latest computerized technology
found in locomotives today, NCFO members have historically played a crucial role
in keeping U.S. railroads on track.
The NCFO members employed in the railroad industry are rightfully proud of their
heritage. However, they have paid a political price over the years because they
are employed in an integral segment of the national transportation system.
Early in the 20th Century the Federal Government decided railroads were just too
important to the nation's defense to let railroad employees collectively bargain
and, if necessary, strike within the economic give and take of the capitalistic
system upon which the United States was founded. However, rather than take away
the collective bargaining rights of railroad employees, the Congress of the
United States decided to just temper their rights by instituting a collective
bargaining process which made the strike process so cumbersome that few railway
labor unions would thereafter legally put pickets outside the gates of any major
railroad shop or crew reporting point. The resulting law, initially enacted in
1926, is still known as the Railway Labor Act. The Railway Labor Act, as
amended, controls the collective bargaining rights of every interstate railroad
employee in the United States.
Notwithstanding the legal hurdles placed in the collective bargaining path by
the Railway Labor Act, NCFO represented railroad employees remain some of the
most militant and politically active union members in the labor movement today.
They are especially active in federal elections because they are exempt from
many state laws. One railroad corporation (employer) often owns and maintains
tracks that run through many states. Therefore, the unemployment benefits,
sickness benefits, retirement benefits and other work related rules and
regulations covering railroad workers are controlled by laws enacted by the
Congress of the United States rather than individual state legislatures.
For more information on the Railway Labor Act see:
www.nmbfacts.com/RLA&Index.htm
Rail Workers HAZMAT
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