Members of Metro-North”™s largest union will soon hold a vote on whether or not they will move forward with plans for a strike, a protest that could spell chaos for commuters who depend on the railroad.
The Association of Commuter Rail Employees”™ board authorized the vote on Tuesday, sending the possibility of a strike out for a vote among its 2,400 members.
The possible strike is the result of contractual disagreements between the union and the commuter railroad. According to James Fahey, general chairman of the Association of Commuter Rail Employees, chief among the union”™s concerns are safety issues and a lack of sufficient or affordable health care for its workers and their families.
“To me, it”™s a disgrace,” Fahey said. “You can only kick a dog so much before it bites.”
Fahey said a vote by union members would be held by a secret ballot, though there is no timeline in place for when the vote would take place.
The organization, founded in January 2000 to represent operating craft employees of Metro-North, is made up of conductors, engineers, power directors, rail traffic controllers, signalmen, yardmasters and stationmasters.
“I pray it doesn”™t get to (a strike),” Fahey said. “I”™m hoping they will turn around and sit down and correct all these issues and work with us.”
Fahey said members of other railroad unions have reached out to him regarding similar contractual issues they are experiencing, though he is uncertain whether other unions will follow in his organization”™s footsteps.
“I”™m not really worried about other unions,” he said. “I know our issues are major to me.”
The railroad, which is run by the the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, is the second-busiest weekday commuter system in the U.S. used by roughly 280,000 passengers daily. Metro-North connects New York City to its Westchester and northern suburbs through Poughkeepsie. The railroad also provides service to Connecticut stations including Danbury and New Haven.
Aaron Donovan, a spokesman for the MTA, said he expects any outstanding issues with the Association of Commuter Rail Employees will be resolved.
“We don”™t negotiate labor contracts in the press,” Donovan said. “Let”™s be clear: threatening an unlawful strike is completely irresponsible and is an insult to hundreds of thousands of Metro-North customers.”
Under the Railway Labor Act, a federal law that governs labor relations in the industry, unions can only strike over “major” disputes, not “minor” issues. Fahey said that if a strike were approved, the organization would enlist its attorney to assist in sorting between “major” and “minor” concerns.
The last Metro-North strike happened in 1983 and lasted for six weeks.
