United Transportation Union
Encyclopedia
The United Transportation Union (UTU) is headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio
. It is a broad-based, transportation labor union
representing about 125,000 active and retired railroad, bus
, mass transit, and airline
workers in the United States
.
The UTU is the largest railroad operating union in North America, with more than 600 locals. The UTU represents employees on every Class I railroad, as well as employees on many regional and shortline railroads. It also represents bus and mass transit employees on approximately 45 bus and transit systems and has grown to include airline pilots, flight attendants, dispatchers and other airport personnel. The UTU is very interested in the airline sector and hopes to expand its representation with pilots and flight attendants. The UTU believes it is a viable alternative to other aviation labor unions because the UTU is, and has been, proficient in interpreting and enforcing provisions of the Railroad Labor Act (RLA), under which airlines operate.
Membership is drawn primarily from the operating crafts in the railroad industry and includes conductors, brakemen, switchmen, ground service personnel, locomotive engineers, hostlers and workers in associated crafts. More than 1,800 railroad yardmasters also are represented by the UTU. The UTU's 8,000 bus and transit members include drivers, mechanics and employees in related occupations.
In August 1968, the union presidents announced that after nine months of planning, a tentative agreement had been reached on all phases of unity. It was further announced that the name of the new organization would be the United Transportation Union and the target date for establishing the UTU was January 1, 1969.
In Chicago on Dec. 10, 1968, the tabulation of the voting revealed an overwhelming desire by the members of the four crafts to merge into a single union, and the United Transportation Union came into existence on January 1, 1969.
The growth in bus transport as a feeder service and alternative to rail or automobile transport began later. Labour organizing drives were extended to bus operations that were affiliated with the railways and to several city and inter-city bus lines.
Beginning in early 1968 and until August of that year, former General Chairperson Paul LaRochelle served as the Canadian member of a committee, in exploratory talks which led to the merger of the four original brotherhoods, the Order of Railway Conductors and Brakemen, Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen and Enginemen, Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen, and Switchmen's Union of North America.
On December 10, 1968, Canadian members overwhelmingly voted in favour of the United Transportation Union, whose Constitutional foundation is built on the autonomy and protection of all crafts who are part of the organization. The first International Officers of the United Transportation Union were the incumbent leaders of the four merging brotherhoods.
The UTU today is one of the largest transportation unions in North America.
(USW), to address a range of common issues in the transportation industry.
Effective 2008 the UTU was to have merged with the Sheet Metal Workers' International Association
to become the Sheet Metal, Air, Railroad, and Transportation Union (S.M.A.R.T.). On December 27, 2007 the federal district court in Akron, Ohio issued a temporary restraining order (TRO) until February 8, 2008, halting the implementation of this merger. That TRO was transformed into a permanent injunction, pending appeal to the Sixth Circuit court of appeals with a scheduled hearing date of April 21, 2009 in Cincinnati, Ohio.
UTU International President Mike Futhey said the 30-day extension "was agreed to by parties so that we might explore all possibilities of resolution consistent with the interests of our members. I intend to use this period to clear up the lack of information and misinformation that previously was provided our membership." Complainants argued, among other issues, that the UTU membership, which ratified the merger in early August, had not been provided sufficient information.
Other Railroad Labor Unions
Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Cuyahoga County, the most populous county in the state. The city is located in northeastern Ohio on the southern shore of Lake Erie, approximately west of the Pennsylvania border...
. It is a broad-based, transportation labor union
Trade union
A trade union, trades union or labor union is an organization of workers that have banded together to achieve common goals such as better working conditions. The trade union, through its leadership, bargains with the employer on behalf of union members and negotiates labour contracts with...
representing about 125,000 active and retired railroad, bus
Bus
A bus is a road vehicle designed to carry passengers. Buses can have a capacity as high as 300 passengers. The most common type of bus is the single-decker bus, with larger loads carried by double-decker buses and articulated buses, and smaller loads carried by midibuses and minibuses; coaches are...
, mass transit, and airline
Airline
An airline provides air transport services for traveling passengers and freight. Airlines lease or own their aircraft with which to supply these services and may form partnerships or alliances with other airlines for mutual benefit...
workers in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
The UTU is the largest railroad operating union in North America, with more than 600 locals. The UTU represents employees on every Class I railroad, as well as employees on many regional and shortline railroads. It also represents bus and mass transit employees on approximately 45 bus and transit systems and has grown to include airline pilots, flight attendants, dispatchers and other airport personnel. The UTU is very interested in the airline sector and hopes to expand its representation with pilots and flight attendants. The UTU believes it is a viable alternative to other aviation labor unions because the UTU is, and has been, proficient in interpreting and enforcing provisions of the Railroad Labor Act (RLA), under which airlines operate.
Membership is drawn primarily from the operating crafts in the railroad industry and includes conductors, brakemen, switchmen, ground service personnel, locomotive engineers, hostlers and workers in associated crafts. More than 1,800 railroad yardmasters also are represented by the UTU. The UTU's 8,000 bus and transit members include drivers, mechanics and employees in related occupations.
History
In 1968 exploratory talks among the four brotherhoods’ interested in forming one transportation union proved fruitful and plans were formulated for merging of the four operation unions into a single organization to represent all four operating crafts.In August 1968, the union presidents announced that after nine months of planning, a tentative agreement had been reached on all phases of unity. It was further announced that the name of the new organization would be the United Transportation Union and the target date for establishing the UTU was January 1, 1969.
In Chicago on Dec. 10, 1968, the tabulation of the voting revealed an overwhelming desire by the members of the four crafts to merge into a single union, and the United Transportation Union came into existence on January 1, 1969.
History of the UTU in Canada
Canadian railway workers followed a similar union organizing pattern to their brothers and sisters in the United States. The Brotherhood of Railroad Brakemen, the forerunner to the Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen, granted the first charter in Canada to a Lodge at Moncton, New Brunswick in 1883. Union organizing proliferated in Canada during this period, encouraged by intolerable working conditions and by organizing campaigns by the Engineers, Conductors, Firemen and Trainmen and on-board service personnel.The growth in bus transport as a feeder service and alternative to rail or automobile transport began later. Labour organizing drives were extended to bus operations that were affiliated with the railways and to several city and inter-city bus lines.
Beginning in early 1968 and until August of that year, former General Chairperson Paul LaRochelle served as the Canadian member of a committee, in exploratory talks which led to the merger of the four original brotherhoods, the Order of Railway Conductors and Brakemen, Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen and Enginemen, Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen, and Switchmen's Union of North America.
On December 10, 1968, Canadian members overwhelmingly voted in favour of the United Transportation Union, whose Constitutional foundation is built on the autonomy and protection of all crafts who are part of the organization. The first International Officers of the United Transportation Union were the incumbent leaders of the four merging brotherhoods.
The UTU today is one of the largest transportation unions in North America.
Strategic Alliances
In July, 2006, the United Transportation Union announced that it was entering into a strategic alliance with the United SteelworkersUnited Steelworkers
The United Steel, Paper and Forestry, Rubber, Manufacturing, Energy, Allied Industrial and Service Workers International Union is the largest industrial labor union in North America, with 705,000 members. Headquartered in Pittsburgh, U.S., the United Steelworkers represents workers in the United...
(USW), to address a range of common issues in the transportation industry.
Effective 2008 the UTU was to have merged with the Sheet Metal Workers' International Association
Sheet Metal Workers' International Association
The Sheet Metal Workers International Association is a trade union of skilled metal workers who perform architectural sheet metal work, fabricate and install heating and air conditioning work, shipbuilding, appliance construction, heater and boiler construction, precision and specialty parts...
to become the Sheet Metal, Air, Railroad, and Transportation Union (S.M.A.R.T.). On December 27, 2007 the federal district court in Akron, Ohio issued a temporary restraining order (TRO) until February 8, 2008, halting the implementation of this merger. That TRO was transformed into a permanent injunction, pending appeal to the Sixth Circuit court of appeals with a scheduled hearing date of April 21, 2009 in Cincinnati, Ohio.
UTU International President Mike Futhey said the 30-day extension "was agreed to by parties so that we might explore all possibilities of resolution consistent with the interests of our members. I intend to use this period to clear up the lack of information and misinformation that previously was provided our membership." Complainants argued, among other issues, that the UTU membership, which ratified the merger in early August, had not been provided sufficient information.
External links
Other Railroad Labor Unions