Railway Organizing: How Labor Law Reform Helps Us

The National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) presents a challenge to private sector workers who try to organize and collectively bargain. Yet we are subject to an entirely different set of rules and regulations for organizing. The Railway Labor Act (RLA) makes it even harder for workers trying to form a union even more difficult than for workers covered by the NLRA.

The RLA requires that in order to form a union, there must be support from a majority among all eligible company employees—not just those who turnout to vote. This requirement is a higher threshold than the NLRA—and even general U.S. election law—both of which require majority support from only those who actually vote in an election. Imagine if in order to win the presidency, Barack Obama or John McCain needed the votes of a majority of all eligible American citizens rather than just voters or those voting that day.

The Railway Labor Act requires that a majority of a company's employees at ALL company locations must vote for the union—not just those at any one location. This requires workers to reach out across the country if they are covered by a nationwide company.

The only way to expand our reach in trhe rail industry, especiually among short line rails, is by reforming labor law. We do not have the support yet, however, by passing the Employee Free Choice Act and by instituting legislation like universal health care, the stepping stone will be there to finally bring some true labor law reform to our industry.