Transport Workers Solidarity Committee

Clearing the Air at American Ports And The Labor Green Coalition-Deregulation The Cause Of Environmental Degradation
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/26/business/26ports.html?scp=1&sq=envirornment trucking deregulation&st=cse

February 26, 2010
Clearing the Air at American Ports

By STEVEN GREENHOUSE
The Teamsters union and environmental activists have formed an unlikely and outspoken alliance aiming to clear the air in American ports, and perhaps bolster the Teamsters’ ranks in the process.

The labor-green alliance is getting under the trucking industry’s skin by asserting that short-haul trucking companies working in ports — and not the truck drivers, who are often considered independent contractors — should spend the billions needed to buy new, low-emission rigs that can cost $100,000 to $175,000 each.

The Teamsters union says seaport air is so dirty largely because port truck drivers earn too little to buy trucks that would belch out fewer diesel particulates, tiny particles that contribute to cancer and asthma. Working with environmentalists, the union helped persuade the Port of Los Angeles to adopt a far-reaching plan that bars old trucks from hauling cargo from the port and puts the burden of buying new vehicles on the trucking companies, not the drivers.

Battles over safety are at heart of UK rail disputes
http://www.socialistworker.co.uk/art.php?id=20365

Posted: 7.25pm Tuesday 23 February 2010

News

Battles over safety are at the heart of rail disputes

Workers from National Rail protesting outside the transport department this week

by Matthew Cookson

Crucial struggles over safety are taking place across Britain’s rail and tube networks.

The rail regulator has told Network Rail, the company responsible for maintaining Britain’s railways, to make “efficiency savings” of 21 percent over the next five years.

“Privatisation has led to repeated attempts to cut maintenance,” said Dave Barnes, a Network Rail worker and member of the TSSA union.

“If this continues then the railways will no longer be safe. These cuts risk more disasters, such as Potters Bar, Grayrigg or Hatfield.”

Bosses are planning to begin their huge programme of cuts by slashing 1,500 rail maintenance jobs.

Safety has already been compromised by previous cuts. The RMT union has produced a report with information from hundreds of maintenance workers.

It shows that there are reduced track safety inspections, delays in the repair of faulty level crossings and reduced safety checks on railway signals.

Rallying for Mass UE union bus drivers
http://socialistworker.org/2010/02/23/rallying-for-bus-drivers

Rallying for union bus drivers
By Mark Clinton | February 23, 2010

GREENFIELD, Mass.--At least 100 members and supporters of United Electrical Workers (UE) Local 274 turned out February 20 to show the fighting spirit that ledNation columnist John Nichols to name UE the country's "most-valuable union" in 2008.

People gathered bright and early in this small, now largely reindustrialized, city in northwestern Massachusetts, to demand that the Franklin Regional Transit Authority (FRTA) stop trying to enforce a policy prohibiting the long-standing practice of UE demand-response bus drivers from assisting passengers into and out of the buses, as well as into and out of their homes as needed.

Demand-response buses provide for the transportation needs of senior citizens. One UE member denounced FRTA's policy, observing, "The only good management rule is one that's broken."

In an inspiring show of solidarity, members of UE locals in Vermont, Connecticut, New York, Boston and Pittsburgh attended the rally and joined the picket line, some carrying signs that demanded FRTA stop "throwing grandma under the bus." Senior citizens with walkers and canes held signs thanking UE drivers for their dedication.

Belgian rail workers take wildcat action over safety fears after fatal collision
http://www.wsws.org/articles/2010/feb2010/belg-f17.shtml

Belgian rail workers take wildcat action over safety fears after fatal collision
By Julie Hyland
17 February 2010
Workers on Belgium’s rail network took wildcat strike action yesterday following the crash between two rush-hour trains near the capital, Brussels, the previous day that left 18 people dead and almost 200 injured.
Rail workers said that their spontaneous walk-out was due to concerns over safety conditions on the network and deteriorating working conditions, including a shortage of personnel that meant another accident such as the one at Halle, just 15 kilometres from Brussels, was likely.
According to reports, train drivers, signalling staff, machinists and technicians are all involved in the action. Depots across the country were blockaded, causing widespread disruption to train services, particularly in Wallonia in the south.
Rail officials said the strikes could continue for several days, compounding widespread disruption to the network, including routes connecting some of the major cities in Europe.
The SNCB said that 85 percent of its depots were affected by the strike. There were mass cancellations of trains and international services. Eurostar and Thalys, which run between France, Germany and the Netherlands, said that they would be unable to continue operating normal routes.

Illinois-based railroads ordered by US Department of Labor to compensate employee fired for reporting work-related injury
http://www.dol.gov/opa/media/press/osha/osha20100157.htm

News Release
OSHA News Release: [02/11/2010]
Contact Name: Rich Kulczewski
Phone Number: (303) 844-1302
Release Number: 10-0157-KAN
Illinois-based railroads ordered by US Department of Labor to compensate employee fired for reporting work-related injury
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has ordered the Illinois Central Railroad Co. and the Chicago, Central & Pacific Railroad, both headquartered in Homewood, Ill., to pay a former railroad employee more than $80,000 in back wages, compensatory damages and attorney's fees.
OSHA investigated the employee's allegation that the railroads terminated his employment in retaliation for reporting a work-related injury he sustained while performing his job. OSHA's investigation found that officials from both railroads ordered an investigation into the cause of the employee's injury, which ultimately resulted in their decision to terminate his employment. The evidence showed that the employee was in compliance with the railroads&' rules governing the reporting of work-related injuries and not at fault for his injury.'

Sick Call: Chicago ATU 241 Union Worker Tries to Incite Mass Call Off "We will not tolerate troublemakers.” Says Union President

http://www.nbcchicago.com/traffic/transit/Sick-Call-83798127.html

Sick Call: Union Worker Tries to Incite Mass Call Off
119 bus routes and seven El lines are running less frequently already
By KIM VATIS
Updated 8:14 PM CST, Tue, Feb 9, 2010

As the CTA service cuts get a trial by fire during the first weekday commute, at least one worker is trying to make things worse, officials say.
A CTA union member this morning showed up to a garage where bus drivers were coming to work and started handing out flyers imploring workers to call in sick to work.
"We’re going to look into the allegations," said CTA President Richard Rodriguez. "We will not tolerate troublemakers.”
CTA officials are trying to determine if it was a union steward that was causing the trouble.

Chicago's Pantsless CTA Ride

CTA Prez: Cuts Have Begun

CTA, Unions Point Fingers at Each Other
It shouldn’t be hard to find the perpetrator, who also left flyers at another garage. She posted her name on the leaflets.
The worker probably didn’t need to exacerbate the problems; the unions and the CTA are already at odds and riders are feeling the pinch already.

Chicago CTA ATU 241 plans slowdown if not given fair negotiation “They’re working us like a machine,”

http://www.suntimes.com/news/transportation/2046755,cta-chicago-union-jesse-jackson-021310.article

CTA unions plan slowdown if not given fair negotiation
Comments

February 13, 2010
BY MARY WISNIEWSKI Staff Reporter
Union representatives for CTA bus workers and the Rev. Jesse Jackson say they want to meet with CTA management on Wednesday, and plan a slowdown if they don’t get a fair negotiation.

“There needs to be a fair negotiation, or there will be a slow road or no road,” Jackson said at a news conference Saturday at Operation PUSH’s South Side headquarters. He was surrounded by about 40 bus drivers, including some who had lost their jobs last week.

Darrell Jefferson, president of Amalgamated Transit Union 241, said a “slowdown” would mean strict adherence to the rules, i.e., no driving a bus more than 35 mph, and no taking off from a bus stop before a passenger is seated or at least hanging onto a strap. Jefferson said the CTA has been pushing drivers to go faster than the rules allow, in order to meet schedules.

CTA spokeswoman Noelle Gaffney said following the rules is not a problem. But any worker participating in an illegal work action will be disciplined, which could mean getting fired, Gaffney said.

SF TWU250A Fare spat highlights growing tensions

http://www.sfexaminer.com/local/Fare-spat-highlights-growing-tensions-83414237.html

Fare spat highlights growing tensions
By: WILL REISMAN and WILL REISMAN
San Francisco Examiner
February 3, 2010

(Examiner file photo)
SAN FRANCISCO — A Muni operator was spit on and physically threatened in a fare dispute last week in the Sunset district, the type of altercation that has increased in the past year and could become more prevalent with the transit agency proposing a series of service reductions.
In 2009, there were 81 assaults recorded against Muni operators, a 33 percent increase from 2008’s 61 incidents, according to Municipal Transportation Agency statistics. With two separate fare increases going into effect in the past seven months, and Muni proposing a
10 percent service reduction, many operators are fearful that aggressive assaults will spike even more, said Irwin Lum, president of Transport Workers Union Local 250-A.
“There is no question that the situation will get worse,” he said. “People are already upset about the fare increases, and now they’re going to be waiting longer to cram into crowded buses. It just makes for a real tense situation.”

Cameras on Trains Have Big Blind Spots

http://www.labornotes.org/blogs/2010/01/cameras-trains-have-big-blind-spots

Cameras on Trains Have Big Blind Spots
by Ron Kaminkow and ... | Tue, 01/26/2010 - 4:04pm
Putting videos in train locomotives will place blame for accidents squarely on individual worker behavior and ignore systemic factors like overwork and poor training that are the real underlying causes of most workplace accidents and injuries. Photo: Andrew Ciscel.
Ron Kaminkow and Ed Michael's blog

The National Transportation Safety Board’s ruling last week on the need for cameras recording locomotive engineers as they work is an attack upon all working people. Besides raising basic constitutional issues with the regard to the right to privacy, it is highly debatable whether or not implementation of such video cameras would diminish the likelihood of railroad accidents.

To begin with, we believe most railroad accidents are not caused simply by operator error. And those that are in fact caused by the operator, more often than not, are caused by things such as miscommunication, poor judgment, fatigue, improper training or lack of qualification—factors that video recorders in the cab of the locomotive are not going to correct or alter in any way. In fact, focusing on the individual worker rather than these systemic conditions misses the forest for the tree.

SA Western Cape-based Transport and Omnibus Workers’ Union On Strike For Health And Safety And Proper Work Conditions

A BLEAK 2010 OUTLOOK FOR LABOUR

From a labour viewpoint, there is little to celebrate with the arrival of the 2010. The pending World Cup, the announcement of booming minerals sales to China and the various blips and surges on global Stock Exchanges do not signal joy to workers and their organisations.

More unemployment, greater levels of casualisation, more downward pressure on wages and the demand for more output from fewer personnel are what seem to be in store, overall. Locally, and even before the World Cup gets underway in June, the first effects will have been felt by the small army of casual labourers who helped build the stadiums around the country. By the end of March, the last of them will probably be out of work.

And while mining companies cheer at the increase in sales of iron ore and other minerals to China, there is a growing awareness in trade union circles that this means further job losses down the line: a proportion of the iron ore, for example, will return to South Africa as finished steel products, undercutting what local industry can produce. For years the unions — and some local employers — have raised warnings about the consequences of such sales.