Samuel Messidor
In Wabtec’s latest attempt to break the workers on strike at their Erie, PA facility, they have sued the union for the workers’ behavior on the picket lines. 1400 workers at the locomotive manufacturing plant organized under the United Electrical, Radio, and Machine Workers of America (UE) have been on strike since June 22 of this year as contract negotiations have deadlocked.
The courts have sided with the company to weaken the strike and the union bureaucracyhas conceded to the court-imposed shackles in a “consent decree.” The consent decree limits the number of workers allowed to picket andbarsthemfrom blocking entrances and “harassing” scabs crossing the picket lines—including simply filming who goes in or out of the plant.
The consent decree presents an illusion of neutrality by also stating that Wabtec will not defame or intimidate the union during the striking process. However, the fact that the capitalists hold power in society shows how empty this is. After a UE strike in 2019 against Wabtec, union statements described a concerted effort by management to retaliate against the workers. Then, too, Wabtec turned to the courts to attack the rights of striking workers. The workers had struck for 9 days, battling against wage cuts, forced overtime, a two-tier system to create a permanent lower-paid stratum of workers at the plant, the right to use temp workers for up to 20% of the workforce, and increased managerial rights to fire workers at their whims. The strike beat back some of these attacks but did not secure the wage increases the workers needed.
Now, union membership has rejected the company’s most recent contract offer due to inadequate pay raises and a two-tier raise schedule where new hires would earn smaller raises than current employees. Workers have also been demanding that Wabtec modernize its facilities to produce electric train cars to preserve jobs at the facility in light of the ongoing economic restructuring of capitalist production in transportation.
As part of the company-proposed contract, Wabtec planned on bringing in subcontractors (non-unionized workers) who could have permanently replaced about 275 workers. Though Wabtec rescinded this plan in the face of union opposition, the “last, best, and final” offer of the company did not meet demanded pay increases and instead opted for a one-time “bonus” of $3000 while raising healthcare plan costs.
Following the union’s rejection of the contract, the company walked away from negotiations on June 10, but have insisted it was the union who walked away, a move that could make workers ineligible to file for unemployment during the strike.
Workers have picketed the hotel where the company is putting up its scab labor. Last month, multiple workers were struck by a car while manning the picket line, and two scabs were arrested earlier this month for a stabbing attack outside a bar.
A convoy of workers and activists from Pittsburgh, PA drove to Erie to join the picket lines at the end of July. Around the same time, activists in North Carolina demonstrated outside a Wabtec facility while in California activists demonstrated with the slogan “Scabtec: This business is aiding Wabtec and hurting our communities” at a rail yard doing business with Wabtec.
