Letter to Railroad Workers United in Support of Public Ownership of the Rail System of the United States, Mexico and Canada
To: Railroad Workers United
From: Labor Work Group, Socialist Party USA
February 13, 2023
Fellow Workers, The recent 2021-22 contract negotiations with railroad owners and the various rail unions (still dispersed in various craft unions, a historical problem going back to the days of Eugene V. Debs , even years prior to his founding of the American Railway Union in 1893), show the mismanagement, profit grabbing and anti-union practices of the railway owners now with the aid of Pres. Biden and Congress.
The rise in rail traffic during a time of great expansion in logistics (freight and package delivery) has highlighted these intractable problems that call for new solutions.
It is time for introduction of public ownership of the rail systems, covering the United States, Mexico and Canada.
We as Socialist Party USA have called for public ownership and democratic control of industry since the time of Debs. See our current Platform and Statement of Solidarity with Rail Workers:
2022-2023 PLATFORM : Preamble
…we call for social ownership and democratic control of productive resources, for a guarantee to all of the right to participate in societal production, and to a fair share of society’s product, in accordance with individual needs. https://www.socialistpartyusa.net/platform
Solidarity with railway workers : SP USA
Public ownership of the railroads: To deal with the current supply chain crisis, Congress must take control of the rail infrastructure as is done the world over and operate it under public interest.
https://www.socialistpartyusa.net/solidarity-with-railroad-workers
Therefore we declare our interest in joining and support campaigns for public ownership of the railroads that the RWU may be initiating.
In Solidarity,
Bill Shakalis Labor Work Group, SP USA
Contact: 860 208-7273
sp-labor@socialistpartry-usa.org
Notes:
Logistics industry in the US:
https://www.statista.com/topics/1417/logistics-industry-in-the-us/
The United States (U.S.) logistics industry is a highly integrated supply chain network. It links producers and consumers through multiple transportation modes, including air and express delivery services, freight rail, maritime shipping, and truck transport. The logistics market in North America is among the leading logistics markets in the world. In 2020, the North American logistics market was sized at over two trillion U.S. dollars and ranked second after Asia-Pacific. The Asia-Pacific region's logistics market reached more than 3.9 trillion U.S. dollars that year.
RWU Campaign in Support of Public Ownership
https://www.railroadworkersunited.org/public-ownership-of-the-railroads