Spring 2004
Volume 111 - No. 1
Spring 2004
Volume 111 - No. 1
President's Message
A New Beginning
BLET looks to grow
On January 1, 2004, we sent a message: the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen is open for business and is inviting members from all operating crafts to join with us as we move forward into a bright future.
We invite all operating employees who want to be represented by a truthful, democratic union which acts in the best interest of its members - at all times - to join the BLET.
The BLE had a long history of truthfulness and democracy, which set us apart from other organizations. This tradition will continue as we move forward as the BLET.
For the past several years, the BLE had welcomed trainmen into its ranks. In July 2002, operating employees on the Texas Mexican Railway chose the BLE as their collective bargaining agent. In February 2003, we won the right to represent trainmen on the Utah Railway. We strive to represent these employees in the honest and forthright manner that we have represented our members for the past 141 years.
On the TexMex, we negotiated a landmark contract agreement with the railway that allows for the safe implementation of remote control operations and provides major pay raises. The agreement, ratified by an 81 percent majority of workers, gives remote control assignments to both locomotive engineers and conductors. Job protections are written into the contract for both crafts, assuring that no current employees will lose their jobs or be furloughed due to remote control implementation. With a federally certified locomotive engineer on the job, the Tex-Mex crews will have the flexibility to operate trains by traditional methods or by remote control, depending on which method is more efficient in any given situation. Train crews were compensated handsomely for their increased flexibility and efficiency. Some could receive pay increases of 45 percent when they go into remote control operations.
These properties were organized under the auspices of the IBT/BLE Rail Operating Employees Council. This joint effort, one of the first undertaken by the organizations, was highly successful and workers on several shortlines chose us as their bargaining representative. The group has successfully organized nine different shortline properties since July of 2002, bringing nearly 750 new members into the House of Labor. The victories include Louisville & Indiana; Portland & Western; New York & Atlantic; Great Western Railway of Colorado; St. Lawrence & Atlantic; Utah Railway; Iowa, Chicago & Eastern; Indiana Southern; and the Texas-Mexican Railway.
The joint efforts of the BLE and IBT were successful on several other fronts too. The IBT is known for its strong negotiating skills, which results in some of the best contracts in all of labor for its members. We have already held strategy sessions with the IBT regarding our Section 6 notices for the next round of collective, which begins in November. The IBT's huge political action committee and their contacts in Washington, D.C., and in statehouses across the nation bring results in the legislative arena. We have joined the IBT by endorsing the most labor-friendly candidate for President of the United States.
These strengths, along with our 141 years of representing workers in a spirit of truth and democracy, will help us to move forward towards our goals. By working together, we can achieve unprecedented strength.
One of our first initiatives in cooperation with the IBT is a campaign to reach out to trainmen, respectfully inviting their consideration for membership in the BLET and Teamsters Rail Conference.
By joining together in a unified, national Rail Conference, rail labor
attains greater bargaining strength, a more vigorous grievance process,
and becomes a more powerful advocate to improve the safety of our working
conditions.
© 2004 Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen