Wilmington Terminal Railroad, a subsidiary of Genesee & Wyoming (G&W), has unanimously voted to join the International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers – Transportation Division (SMART-TD), the union recently announced.
Since coming under G&W ownership in 2005, the workers have been without representation, said SMART-TD, which added that the workers’ journey to becoming part of the SMART-TD union was “anything but easy.”
According to the union, Parker Greenough “got tired of G&W’s threats to shut down the terminal and switch the cars elsewhere if organizing talk became a reality.”
After having important conversations, Greenough and his co-workers decided that they were ready to join a union. A Friday Google search, the union says, led Greenough to SMART-TD, and he immediately made a call to the organizing department. By Monday morning, Greenough was on the phone with Vice Chairman of General Committee 433 Andy Goeckner, who asked Greenough what he and his brothers needed. Authorization cards were in the mail to them that same day.
Support also came from Local 1105 President Mike Stafford, who was present during the initial town hall and provided “invaluable help as the vote approached,” according to SMART-TD.
“I was shocked at how easy SMART-TD and Andy made this process,” Greenough noted. “We could tell that he was excited to be in this fight with us, and that made us even more motivated to organize.”
Following the unanimous vote to join SMART-TD, Goeckner walked the new members through the process of filing the correct documentation with the U.S. Department of Labor and other federal organizations.
Fellow North Carolinian Todd McCray, who hails from the CSX General Committee, helped Wilmington Terminal navigate the process at the state level, “a responsibility that he wasn’t required to assume,” according to the union.
“Todd’s not an organizer,” Goeckner pointed out. “Being from the same state and having the knowledge to make it happen, he just wanted to help his brothers secure the protection and respect that they deserve. He went above and beyond his job description to bring these guys into our SMART-TD family.”
“SMART has negotiated some great agreements on G&W properties. These guys see that and what they’re missing out on and what a union can do for you,” said McCray, who added that he believes the vote is “a true reflection of the union difference.”
In related news, SMART-TD ratified a new five-year agreement with G&W subsidiary Alabama & Gulf Coast Railway (AGR) back in November.
