For Immediate Release
Contact: George Francisco
Rail Carriers' Outright Rejection of Rail Labor's Proposed
"Ground Rules" Derails Negotiations
(
"By refusing to even discuss the Rail Labor Coalition's proposed ground
rules, the rail carriers have gotten these negotiations off on the wrong
track," said George Francisco, coordinator of the Coalition and President
of the National Conference of Firemen & Oilers (SEIU). "These
ground rules are an attempt to clarify the process in which seven rail unions
are bargaining in concert."
The proposed Ground Rules simply covered the following eight issues:
* Who each side represented;
* Who would participate in negotiations;
* The advance notification of presentations by experts;
* The scheduling of negotiations;
* The alignment of common and craft-specific issues so the suitable representatives
would be available
* Mutually agreeing upon negotiation locations and provisions
for bargaining and caucus rooms and the sharing of expenses;
* Provisions for information sharing and confidentiality agreements;
* The finalization of contract language and the process for the ratification of
the contract by the members of the coalition.
"Since the 1930s, the NCCC has assumed master contract bargaining on
behalf of the majority of the carriers. For the first time in decades, rail
unions are joining together in a coalition to make sure our members get a fair
contract," said Francisco. "For that reason, we felt a clear
set of ground rules would help streamline the process. It is outrageous
that the Rail Carriers dismissed our proposal out of hand."
Robert Allen, chief negotiator for the National Carriers Conference Committee
(NCCC), representing the Class One carriers, refused to discuss the issue and
refused carte blanc to point out what objections the NCCC had to the proposed
ground rules.
For the first time in two decades, seven major railroad unions joined together
in the creation of the "Rail Labor Bargaining Coalition" to
coordinate contract negotiations with the rail carriers. The seven unions
of the coalition represent nearly 85,000 rail workers from American railroad
corporations. The Coalition has developed a coordinated contract
negotiating strategy and each individual union will not sign off on any
tentative agreements with the rail carriers until all the coalition members
concur.
The Coalition is comprised of the following railroad unions:
Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employes Division (BMWED-IBT)
Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET-IBT)
National Conference of Firemen and Oilers (SEIU)
Brotherhood of Railroad Signalmen (
Sheet Metal Workers International Association (SMWIA)
International Brotherhood of Boilermakers (IBB)
American Train Dispatchers Association (ATDA)
By presenting a unified front at the bargaining table, members of the Rail
Coalition have taken an important step in combating rail management's divide
and conquer bargaining strategy. That strategy features the coercion of
individual labor organizations into divisive contract settlements, which then
are said to form a 'pattern' of substandard agreements that are, in turn,
forced on other labor organizations through over-long mediation, Emergency
Board proceedings or legislation. A united union movement will restore
balance to contract negotiations.