Fall/Winter 2004
Volume 111 - No. 3 & 4
Fall/Winter 2004
Volume 111 - No. 3 & 4
Guest Comment
Thinking Beyond our Division
A further look at the true meaning of solidarity
When I became active with the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers a few years ago, I started to think of the broader scope of "union" and "solidarity" and how it could, or should, apply to us in the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen.
I have been involved in unions since I was in undergraduate school and a member of the American Federation of Musicians. My maternal grandfather was an 'honest-to-goodness' Teamster, driving (at one time) at team of horses for Ohio Cloverleaf Dairy. My father was, for a time, a sheet-metal worker and belonged to their union. My father's brothers and uncle worked on the Southern Pacific Railroad and they belonged to the various operating-craft organizations that were applicable.
Before becoming a member of BLET, I belonged to the United Transportation Union and the Railway Yardmasters of America before. With the IBT merger, there was a lot of talk about the value of the affiliation with other unions and how we could help each other. This is what I should like to explore with you.
The BLET has been affiliated with the AFL-CIO for many years at the national level. Since the last meeting of the Ohio State Legislative Board, we, as Legislative Representatives, have been affiliated with the State AFL-CIO federation. Early last year, Division 4 voted unanimously to join the Toledo Area Joint Labor Council. This is open to any local unit of an organization that is a member of the AFL-CIO nationally. The cost is minimal and our division was able to absorb the monthly assessment at no increase to our members. We have one delegate for the first 100 members and one delegate for every second 100, or portion thereof. In our case, we have just over 100 members, so we have two delegates.
We meet once a month with members of other AFL-CIO Brothers and Sisters from all facets of organized labor, from school teachers and human resource professionals to hotel-restaurant workers and farm laborers. It is quite interesting and educational to hear these other folks discussing their problems with management and how their negotiations are, or are not, progressing. We invite various speakers and occasionally people running for local, regional or state office, who are union-endorsed or are seeking endorsement. We also participate in local relief efforts, food banks and blood drives in the name of Labor.
At one meeting, delegates were asked to take signs to put in our lawns dealing with the local newspaper that refused to negotiate. At the same meeting we signed pledges to drop not only our subscription to the paper but our cable and internet access, as the same company owns them. In May we signed similar pledges to switch from SBC to another union carrier if the CWA contract negotiations did not progress. The Toledo Area Joint Labor Council is able to act in concert with local unions on local and national issues.
Shortly after Division 4 became affiliated, Chairman Ong and I met with the Executive Secretary and the Legislative Director. We discussed the BLET's concerns regarding the use of remote control locomotives. Following this meeting, the Executive Committee formulated a resolution that was passed by the entire body in October of 2003. The committee also sent a letter to FRA Administrator Allan Rutter, asking that he reopen the files on the remote control issue. It is my opinion that the action of the area Joint Labor Council was influential in the subsequent passage of a Remote Control resolution by the Toledo City Council this spring. This is union cooperation and solidarity at its finest.
The Toledo Area AFL-CIO also sponsors two annual events, Workers Memorial Day and the Labor Day Parade, which are family events. Division 4 marched in the Labor Day parade this year for the first time (last year's parade was rained out) as the North West Ohio Rail Conference.
More than 30 communities in Ohio have similar AFL-CIO labor councils. I would urge all divisions to investigate and consider joining the council in your area, meet the other labor leaders and get involved. To find a CLC in your area try the following web link http://www.aflcio.org/aboutunions/unioncities/.
Division 4 has become involved with another organization through the AFL-CIO - Jobs with Justice. Since Division 4 has been affiliated with JwJ, there have been National Worker's Rights rallies, Health Care for All rallies and several other local visible witnesses for workers concerns. They sponsored, along with the AFL-CIO, the "Show us the Jobs" tour and the "Collateral Damage" tour (dealing with NAFTA, the Iraq situation and political strategies for the upcoming election). It is possible to join as an organization (as Division 4 has) or and individual, as I personally have.
Founded in 1987, JwJ's mission is to improve working people's standard of living, fight for job security, and protect workers' right to organize. JwJ's core belief is that in order to be successful, struggles for workers' rights have to be part of a larger campaign for economic and social justice. To that end, JwJ has created a network of local coalitions that connect labor, faith-based, community and student organizations to work together on workplace and community social justice campaigns.
Jobs with Justice Coalitions now exist in over 40 cities in 29 states in all regions of the country, both member organizations and thousands of individual activists. Each has signed the Jobs with Justice Pledge to "be there" five times a year for someone else's struggle as well as their own. JwJ creates strategic alliances locally and among national organizations, to develop a broad base of support. By building a base of diverse constituencies at the local level as well as providing training, coordination, and networking at the national level, Jobs with Justice is rebuilding the infrastructure that gives communities a sense of their own power.
First and foremost, Jobs with Justice is about action. Action wins concrete victories. Creative direct action empowers activists. Collective action builds the relationships that make coalitions work. Our coalitions take action around all kinds of issues, from the right to organize a union, to a living wage, to global justice, and to student's rights. To learn more about what Jobs with Justice does, follow the links. The website to find a chapter near you is http://www.jwj.org/LocalCoal/contact.htm.
Tom Galloway is Legislative Representative of BLET Division 4 in Toledo, Ohio. He first joined the Brotherhood on January 1, 2000. He was elected Legislative Rep of the Division in March 2001 and has served his divison in that role ever since. He and his wife Terri have been married for 34 years. The couple has two sons, Ian, 29, and Casey, 26. Outside of union and railroad activities, he is involved in music and lay ministry at his church, the Grace United Methodist Church in Perrysburg, Ohio, as well at the Toledo District United Methoodist committees.
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