March 28, 2005

An open letter to the membership:  

This is an update to all BMWED members regarding the 2005 "national" round of contract negotiations. This bargaining update only applies to those roads represented in national negotiations by the National Carriers' Conference Committee (NCCC). However, because all of our members have a vested interest in what occurs at the "national table", we are providing this update to all BMWED members regardless of whether or not your carrier is in national bargaining.

The elected National Officers of the Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employes Division (BMWED) are committed to a new way of national bargaining in 2005. To carry out that goal, the BMWED joined the much larger Rail Labor Bargaining Coalition (RLBC). That group includes our Teamster Brothers and Sisters within the Locomotive Engineers & Trainmen as well as the Signalmen, three shop craft unions; the Firemen & Oilers, Sheet Metal Workers and Boilermakers, and the Train Dispatchers. The RLBC contains a truly representative cross-section of all railroad workers and, represents over half of all railroad workers in the United States. The view of all of the National Officers and an overwhelming majority of the General Chairmen is that we, as a union, are stronger standing with our other Brothers and Sisters in the industry, than standing alone like we have in the past. Indeed, you, the rank and file strength of this union, made that point abundantly clear when you voted by a 3 to 1 margin to join the Teamsters to get bigger, stronger and more unified within Rail Labor.

Beginning on March 9, 2005,  the RLBC met with the Railroads to conduct what we hoped would be three days of serious bargaining. As you may already know, those three days of bargaining became about one hour, thanks entirely to the attitude of the Railroads. We know the Railroads don't like dealing with the RLBC because our strength and unity frustrates their desire to pick on one union, threaten it, and cut a "sweetheart deal" they can force on everyone else. Make no mistake about this, the Railroads will do everything they can to frustrate the RLBC in national bargaining because they fear any attempts to create cross-craft worker solidarity in this industry. The Railroads want to keep us divided; they will try to sell every craft on how "special" it is and how its interests are completely different than any others. That is the old way of bargaining and the BMWED and the RLBC will have no part of it.

     At the beginning of the March 9th bargaining session, the RLBC presented a set of proposed "ground rules" to the Railroads that would set the procedures for this round of bargaining. The ground rules were based, in large part, on procedures suggested by the National Mediation Board to assure meaningful and successful bargaining. In other words, the ground rules help the parties engage in good-faith bargaining. These rules are simple and require compliance, with these basic principles:

· The parties will agree on a bargaining schedule for several months ahead;

· The parties will agree in advance on what topics will be discussed on a given date so each side can bring people to the bargaining table who know that issue;

· If one side wants to bring an outside expert to the bargaining table, they must give reasonable advance notice to the other side; and

· Each side will share information, subject to a confidentiality agreement   when appropriate, necessary to conduct meaningful bargaining about a proposal.

      Simply put, the RLBC wants to bargain in an open and professional manner with the Railroads. However, the Railroads' response was very clear. They want no rules. This means the Railroads are committed to the old way, the "divide and conquer" way of bargaining that we will not participate in. The Railroads want the RLBC to bargain when it is convenient for the Railroads; discuss only topics that the Railroads want to discuss  topics the Railroads will reveal only on the day of bargaining; and share information only the Railroads believe is relevant to bargaining. The Railroads' flat rejection of our proposed rules and their refusal to discuss any rules for national bargaining means they are not interested in bargaining in good faith with the RLBC. Instead, the Railroads want to bargain like they did in the last round where they "auditioned" each union, BMWE included, hoping to discover which union seemed the most eager, or most vulnerable, to make a deal the Railroads wanted.

     Last time, the Railroads got their wish through a double-headed attack. First, they locked up an early "agreement" with the UTU on wages which they said was the "pattern." Then the Railroads attacked us with an outrageous subcontracting proposal that would have eliminated half of the maintenance of way workers on the railroads. Because BMWE was bargaining alone, we were vulnerable. To avoid any battle over work rules, we reluctantly agreed to employee cost sharing on health insurance premiums. These two agreements, the UTU wage package and the BMWE agreement on cost sharing gave the Railroads the two major goals they sought in bargaining. All the other unions, each bargaining separately, were sucked one by one into the deal orchestrated by the Railroads. That deal was the direct result of each union bargaining alone because it was "special" and didn't need to make common cause with their Brothers and Sisters in the rail industry.

     In the coming months you will probably will hear the isolated "voice of doom." You know the type, the guy who always finds something wrong in anything, be it a meal, a movie or a new car. Already the UTU's website is trying to say the RLBC is being led around by the "Teamsters." Well, we are Teamsters and proud to belong to that large and powerful union. And yes, we, along with the BLET, have an active voice in the RLBC. However, other unions belong to the RLBC and we have moved forward as a group, no one union is leading anybody around. Instead, we are working together to get the best result for our combined memberships.

     You may also hear some say, "oh no, the last time Rail Labor tried a coalition, we got PEB 219." Anyone who says that either doesn't know the history of PEB 219 or is deliberately misleading you. PEB 219 was not the product of a coalition, pure and simple. In that round of bargaining, which began in 1988, each union bargained separately from the others. What all of the unions individually agreed to was a release from mediation to a single PEB. Even then, each union presented its own case to the PEB. Other than an agreement to go to a single PEB, each union operated in its own little world without any cooperation or coordination with anyone else. The result, as you well know, was a disaster for Rail Labor. The RLBC was created to avoid exactly that result. Anyone who claims the RLBC recreates what Rail Labor did in PEB 219 is just wrong and is someone who either consciously or unconsciously wants to undermine Rail Labor solidarity.

     This round of national bargaining will present challenges to us that will test our ability to stand together as a united Rail Labor. We, the undersigned National Division Officers want to get the BMWED's story, the real and true story, out to the rank and file as quickly as possible. In order to improve the flow of information to the membership, we have included the enclosed postage-paid form for you to fill out giving us a personal fax or e-mail address for you to receive updated information as soon as it is issued. Also, we are asking you to provide a fax number for your headquarters so we can put the Rail Labor story out to all your Brothers and Sisters on the railroad. Together we will prevail.


In Solidarity,

Freddie N. Simpson      Perry K. Geller, Sr.
President       -       Secretary-Treasurer

J. R. Cook      R. B. Wehrli
Vice President  Vice President

E. R. Spears    Leon R. Fenhaus
Vice President  Vice President

Henry W. Wise, Jr.      Paul R. Beard
Vice President  Executive Board

Gary L. Cox     B. R. Palmer
Executive Board Executive Board

David A. Joynt  David D. Tanner
Executive Board Executive Board