Soo Line Railroad/United Transportation Union 1994

Clinton Orders So Soo line -qual Union to Halt Soo Line Strike The strike has hurt some grain shippers Suspension for Day Period and their customers. especially compa- Is Prompted by Fears nies such as pet-food manufacturers. which rely on just-in-time delivery, ac- Dispute Would Spread cording to David Barrett, a lawyer for the National Grain and Feed Association. Also, Iowa lawmakers have expressed con- cern that grain elevators would be over- By DANIEL PEARL whelmed if the strike didn't end before the And JEFFREY H. BIRNBAUM fall grain harvest begins. Staff Reporters of THE WALL STREET WASHINGTON - President Clinton or- Another Union's Defection dered the suspension of a six-week-old Another union's defection set the stage strike against the Soo Line Railroad, citing for the Clinton administration's interven- fears the strike would spread to other tion. The Brotherhood of Locomotive Engi- railroads. neers, which had been honoring picket The action will force striking United lines, released 450 Soo Line engineers to Transportation Union members back to return to work last Wednesday. Within two work for 60 days while a three-member days, the United Transportation Union emergency board makes recommenda- notified the National Mediation Board it tions for solving the dispute. planned secondary boycotts. By Sunday, Such boards have been formed 222 the board had notified President Clinton of times before. and 80% of the time the two a potential threat to interstate commerce. sides reached an agreement without a A nine-hour negotiating session Sunday subsequent strike. according to the Associ- vielded no progress, and President Clinton ation of American Railroads. Still, Con- issued the emergency order from Edgar- gress had to step in to end a nationwide rail town. Mass., where he is vacationing. strike two years ago. And Congress may be The railroads that could have had work in recess in 60 days when Soo Line workers stoppages if the Soo Line strike spread regain the right to strike. "We're mindful of the problem," said include Burlington Northern Inc. and the Mortimer Downey, deputy transportation Chicago & North Western Railway Co., both of which run trains for Chicago's secretary, adding that the administration Metra commuter service. already has asked the union not to resume a strike while Congress is away. As recently as Thursday. the Soo Line So far. the strike has been confined to had opposed the idea of presidential inter- Minneapolis-based Soo Line, which is vention. There are some fears within the owned by Canadian Pacific Ltd. of Mon- railroad industry that an emergency board treal. The United Transportation Union appointed by a Democratic president will had threatened over the weekend to begin be sympathetic to unions. However, Presi- picketing other railroads. Secondary pick- dent Clinton has already shown he's no fan eting could have stranded Chicago rail of strikes: he moved quickly to end last commuters. Chicago Mayor Richard Daley year's strike by flight attendants at AMR joined railroads this weekend in asking the Corp.'s American Airlines and he has Clinton administration to step in. called for an end to the Major League Baseball strike. Lengthy Negotiations "We're honoring the call, and we'll take down the picket signs," said a spokesman for the union, which represents 1,100 of Soo Line's 4,500 employees. Talks have been continuing for four years, but the two sides remain divided over wages and the Soo Line's desire to reduce the size of train crews. as other railroads have done. A spokesman for the Soo Line said the railroad is running at 40% of capacity. using managers, and that it will take some time to inspect rail lines and deploy equip- ment to resume full operations. "There's every chance we've lost some business," F 8/30 the spokesman added. l read through 3 different paphs on this l point out, under your leadership, not one leah of WH involvement. J 61 ; THE WALI STREET URNAI TUESDAY. AUGUST 30. 199.