NPEU Officers Support the Railroad Workers and Condemn Government Action to Deny Their Right to Strike

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT: Valeria Mejía-Guevara, contact@npeu.org

WASHINGTON, D.C. (December 1, 2022) The officers of the Nonprofit Professional Employees Union, IFPTE Local 70, AFL-CIO, CLC, support the Railroad Workers and condemn government action to deny these workers their right to strike. We assert that all workers, including Railroad Workers, deserve paid leave to recover when sick or injured and to care for ailing family members. 

Railroad Workers are essential workers. Their labor makes our supply chain possible, and our economy should not come at the expense of their or their families’ health and safety. Railroad companies are the ones jeopardizing our supply chain’s resilience by withholding paid sick leave, thereby exacerbating worker shortages. Lack of paid leave is also a threat to our collective public health and economy, as it encourages people to come to work sick. This increases transmission of viral illnesses like COVID-19 and threatens the long-term health of workers and their families.

Railroad companies should not be pocketing record profits at the expense of their employees’ health. To allow them to continue doing so is both inhumane and unsustainable, and puts the entire supply chain at risk. Companies that can afford $196 billion in stock buybacks and dividends can afford to provide their workers with paid sick leave.

Railroad Workers have the right to reject an agreement that does not meet their needs. They also have the right to strike to secure an agreement they find acceptable—in this case, one that includes sufficient paid sick leave. The ability to withhold labor is the backbone of worker organizing. Without it, workers have little leverage when negotiating with their employers.

Safeguarding the supply chain and the rights of workers means holding the correct party accountable: the railroad companies that refuse to provide paid sick leave. If the government intervenes, it should be to protect workers, not corporate profits.

About NPEU:

The Nonprofit Professional Employees Union (NPEU), a local of the International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers, represents professionals employed at 49 nonprofit organizations (and counting), including employees at Friends of the Earth, Washington Center for Equitable Growth, and Jews United for Justice. With several hundred members, NPEU gives nonprofit workers a voice to strengthen their workplaces and continue to do work that makes a difference in people’s lives.