[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 105 (Wednesday, July 17, 1996)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1311]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   RAILWAY LABOR-MANAGEMENT DISPUTES

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. BUD SHUSTER

                            of pennsylvania

                          HON. SUSAN MOLINARI

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, July 17, 1996

  Mr. SHUSTER. Mr. Speaker, three labor disputes, affecting several 
major unions and most of the Nation's major railroads, are now in the 
final days of the process provided for in the Railway Labor Act. All 
three disputes have undergone extensive mediation. When the produced 
impasses, the President appointed a Presidential Emergency Board [PEB] 
for each of the disputes, as provided in the Railway Labor Act, to 
recommend proposed settlement terms. The three PEBs issued their 
reports on June 23, 1996. The issuance of the PEB reports began the 
final 30-day ``cooling-off'' period under the Railway Labor Act for the 
parties to attempt a negotiated solution to their disputes. In any 
dispute where an agreement is not reached within this final 30 days, 
both sides are free to employ ``self-help'' under the Railway Labor 
Act--a strike by labor, or a lockout or unilateral promulgation of new 
rules and working conditions by management. In the three pending cases, 
this earliest legal time for self-help will be 12:01 a.m., July 24.
  The stakes in these negotiations go far beyond the railroad industry 
itself. Although there are alternative methods of transportation, a 
number of industries cannot readily eliminate their heavy reliance on 
rail service. These include automobile manufacturing, paper, chemicals, 
and coal. As more and more industries have adopted ``just-in-time'' 
delivery of supplies and parts to reduce inventory costs, the 
continuity of rail service has become even more important to the 
economy. As a result, an interruption of rail service for even a few 
days can require the complete shutdown of many of the plants in these 
industries. Overall, some $2.7 billion of goods move by rail every day. 
At the time of the 1991 national rail strike, the Council of Economic 
Advisors estimated the non-recoverable damage to the economy of a rail 
shutdown as $1 billion per day after the first few days. Current 
projections indicate that a rail shutdown would cause nearly 600,000 
non-rail layoffs within 2 weeks, and over 1 million such layoffs after 
4 weeks.
  Besides the industries directly served by the freight railroads, 
Amtrak and most commuter and rail services must use tracks and 
equipment of the freight railroad network. For these rail passenger 
services, a freight rail shutdown could strand 294,000 commuters and 
25,000 Amtrak riders per day.
  In light of the vital economic role of continuous and reliable rail 
service, we urge both rail labor and rail management to negotiate in 
good faith, using the recommendations of the three Presidential 
Emergency Boards to inform their deliberations. Although Congress has 
intervened in a number of rail shutdowns in the past, this should be a 
last resort. Privately negotiated voluntary agreements are vastly 
preferable, for the employees, the rail carriers, and the nation.
  Meanwhile, to aid the Members of Congress and the public in 
understanding the issues involved in these three labor disputes, we are 
making available in the Committee's offices summaries of the three 
Presidential Emergency Board reports. The PEB reports themselves 
totaled approximately 150 pages. We hope that this condensed summary 
will help all concerned understand the issues better, and to evaluate 
the accuracy of any claims about the content of the PEB recommendations 
they may hear in the coming weeks.

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