Posts tagged 1926 Railway Labor Act
Big Labor’s Rise to Power, or Big Labor Never Lets a Tragedy Go to Waste
May 21, 2026 // It contrasts Samuel Gompers’ early emphasis on voluntarism (“No lasting gain has ever come from compulsion”) with later leaders, such as Owen Bieber, who embraced “the persuasion of power.” Compulsory unionism—forced membership or dues as a condition of keeping or having a job—began in the private sector in 1935, and with the federal government’s help, it spread like a “cancer” to government workers, and it has eroded worker rights, public services, and democratic processes while enriching labor union treasuries and many union officers.
Op-ed: This LIRR Strike Should Be the Last
May 20, 2026 // Public employees in New York do not have the right to strike. The RLA, however, supersedes state law, effectively granting the railroad’s workers this right. Much has changed over a century, and this exception should no longer apply. In 1966, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority absorbed the LIRR, making the railroad a public employer. In 1980, federal courts rejected an attempt to enforce New York’s strike prohibition, in part because the LIRR was still hauling freight at that time. It no longer does. Nonetheless, the federal exemption has proved a powerful tool for the LIRR’s unions. Each time their labor contracts come up for negotiation, these groups threaten LIRR riders, and New York governors, with stoppages. They’ve carried out the threat before, most recently in 1987 and 1994.