Obama pledges solidarity with UTU

[Zeb]

Posted by UTU.org

Presumptive Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama has reached out to UTU members, assuring them of his support on issues with pay-check relevance for rail and transit workers.

In a personal letter to UTU International President Mike Futhey, Obama thanked the UTU for its endorsement, promising he will not let UTU members down.

The July 5 letter from Obama was distributed by Assistant President Arty Martin to some 700 attendees at the UTU Denver Regional Meeting July 7.

Obama promises to "preserve and promote policies that recognize the value of transportation workers.

“I will preserve the sanctity of Railroad Retirement and the Federal Employers’ Liability Act (FELA), and push for a fair process to receive and maintain a commercial driver’s license," Obama wrote. "My administration will push for Amtrak, commuter rail and public transit system funding, ensuring strong employment levels well into the future.

“I am proud to stand with UTU in our joint efforts to build an America that values the labor of every American and rewards it with a few basic guarantees: wages that can raise a family, health care if we get sick, and a retirement that’s dignified," Obama wrote.

In distributing the Obama letter, Martin said, "Every day, in every location in the nation, there is an issue that threatens our way of life as working families.

“Having a friend in the White House means we have a say in who runs the Federal Railroad Administration," Martin said.

“It also means we have a say in who is appointed to the National Mediation Board and the National Labor Relations Board, and who chairs the Surface Transportation Board, which rules on rail mergers and labor protection," Martin said. "And it means we have a friend of labor appointing federal judges to courts where many of our disputes with carriers are decided."

Martin said that "a vote for Obama in November is a vote for better paychecks, better benefits, better working conditions and better family security."

Regional meeting attendees received an Obama bumper sticker in their registration packages.

Futhey is scheduled to give his first state of the union address the afternoon of July 9, at the close of the Denver Regional Meeting.

To read the entire Obama letter to President Futhey, click here.

[Popeye]

Didn't we have a say when Clinton was pres? And got the same lame contracts? Of course I wasn't with the Union back then, but have read the contracts that where given to workers back then. I suppose that we made out like bandits, and the new guys where not sold out.

[Zeb]

Originally Posted by Popeye

Didn't we have a say when Clinton was pres? And got the same lame contracts? Of course I wasn't with the Union back then, but have read the contracts that where given to workers back then. I suppose that we made out like bandits, and the new guys where not sold out.

Contracts are just a small part of wanting to have a labor friendly candidate in the White House.

For one, it would probably mean more labor friendly people administering many of the departments or boards we rely on to level the playing field with the carriers. Having a labor friendly administrator at the head of the FRA may just get the FRA to being the regulating office they set out to be instead of a rubber stamp for the carriers as they have been the last 7 years.

Another outcome would probably be having a democratic majority on the National Mediation Board. Maybe that would help in turning around the tide of arbitration ass kickings we have taken over the last 7/8 years.

Labor friendly heads of the DOL and DOT would also be a huge improvement and possibly get those departments to finally scrutinize these carriers and corporations instead of sitting silent and looking the other way while the corporations run unchecked. It would also put a stop to the DOT letting mexican trucks and truckers run cross country here in the US. Congress has closed the loopholes that allowed that, but the DOT republican head refuses to let the practice stop.

Gotta look at the big picture Popeye on what a labor friendly administration means for us in labor.

[Popeye]

We'll see in 5 mos or so. I've never seen just what a labor friendly house, senate and white house can do. I'll save it to my favorites when it happens.

[Ghostrider]

Don't worry he's still refining his views.

[Popeye]

How long has Pilosi had the majority? And just what has been done as far as good contracts? I am just anxious to see what real progress looks like, and I hope we don't have to wait 8 years to see it. I'd love to see BNSF get stomped, but they ain't scared. We'll see what happens. I'll be more than happy to eat a little crow, it would be worth it. But I just don't see it now.

[rufus]

Didn't the UTU endorse Clinton in the primary?

[Popeye]

Shhhhhh...don't tell anyone.