C&W employees get jobs back
PUEBLO -- Train and engine service employees fired in October 1997 for refusing to cross a steelworkers' picket line at a Pueblo, Colo., steel mill are to be reinstated by a Public Law Board (PLB) decision issued on November 20, 2000.

On October 3, 1997, the United Steelworkers struck CF&I/Oregon Steel, which owned and operated both the steel mill and the Colorado & Wyoming (C&W) railroad, which serviced the mill. The carrier threatened to fire anyone who refused to cross the picket line.

UTU President C.L. Little responded to the carrier noting that it was the carrier's responsibility to provide a safe workplace, and that if members did not feel safe, UTU would defend their decision not to cross under the Federal Railroad Safety Act (FRSA).

On October 10, 1997, the Steelworkers began picketing what had previously been denoted as a neutral gate, and UTU members, fearing for their safety, refused to cross the Steelworker line. The carrier fired the employees, and UTU progressed claims under the FRSA for their reinstatement and to be made whole. After much delay by the carrier, the matter was finally heard by the PLB in November 1999.

After considering the great amount of evidence submitted, the PLB found that the employees did, indeed, have a "reasonable fear for their safety." The board also noted the conflicting testimony presented by the carrier and UTU.

While the board did not find the testimony of the carrier's former vice president and chief operating officer to be credible, it did find that the statements of the CF&I attorneys, as well as the media reports of the strike violence, to be convincing of the danger faced by the employees.

The PLB specifically noted news reports of the strike which described the situation as "mayhem," and that "police warned that the violence must stop." CF&I attorneys even admitted vandalism was on the rise, and that possible arson was suspected at an employee's home.

In responding to a union request for the list of new hires, CF&I's attorneys stated:

"This clear and present danger mitigates against provision of the requested information. What safeguards would you provide? What assurances that the list would not be misused? How could either of us look ourselves in the mirror if the list got into the wrong hands and injury or worse occurred?"

At the time, the National Labor Relations Board had even issued a notice directing that the strikers cease and desist from, among other things, threatening to assault, or assaulting employees, following vehicles driven by CF&I employees in a reckless manner, banging, kicking, or throwing objects at vehicles attempting to enter or leave the CF&I plant, and picketing the homes of CF&I employees.

The PLB found that, given the atmosphere surrounding this strike, it was clear that the employees had a reasonable fear for their safety.

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