CLEVELAND, May 10 -- The Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers has terminated unification talks with the United Transportation Union after the UTU failed to provide critical financial information to the BLE by a May 1 deadline.
As a result, the two unions are back to square one the UTU has filed a petition with the National Mediation Board to eliminate the craft of locomotive engineer, and the BLE has sought to bring sanctions against the UTU from the AFL-CIO.
The decision to end unification talks was approved unanimously by the BLE Advisory Board. BLE President Clarence V. Monin warned that the failure of the UTU to address financial questions and their potential grave legal consequences in a timely and forthright manner was a serious breach of the Statement of Principles the two unions developed as a basis for creating a new organization.
"We had set a May 1 deadline for recommendations by the Joint Finance
Committee on a dues structure, which required UTU to provide critical financial
information, but that information was not forthcoming," Monin said.
"We passed May 1 with no realistic expectation of resolving the financial
questions or the legal issues with their financial implications in time
for an October ratification vote by the memberships of BLE and UTU."
"Without this information, we cannot determine if a proposed new union can continue the same level of services, if a new union can be done in a fiscally prudent and responsible manner, or as a matter of fact, if the BLE and its members will be protected from any liabilities that the UTU now has, or could incur," Monin said.
Based on this breach of the Statement of Principles, approved by the two unions in November 1998, the Advisory Board rescinded its approval of that document and declared that the talks were over.
Under the Statement of Principles, a drafting committee had made progress on a draft Unification Agreement and proposed Constitution for a new union, but the Finance Committee was not able to complete its work by the May 1 deadline.
"We promised our members they would have an opportunity to vote on this proposal in the fall, and we cannot possibly meet that goal without resolving these financial issues immediately," Monin said. "It seems that UTU wants us to wait until after its convention in August. We cannot do that."
Based on preliminary information, sources within the BLE were predicting a dues reduction for BLE members if a new union was formed.
On the other hand, UTU members would have faced a stiff increase on the $17.50 they pay in dues each month. Dues for BLE members is approximately $25 per month.
"How can we be expected to join with the UTU if they are not honest, open and forthright when it comes to their finances" Monin asked. "It's like they've got something to hide."
Monin said the breakdown of talks with UTU would not dissuade the BLE from continuing its efforts to unite rail labor.
"We've had talks with other unions about how we can work together in negotiations with the carriers next year," he said. "In this era of big rail mergers and acquisitions, workers need to present a strong united front."
CLEVELAND, May 20 -- The National Mediation Board has announced a schedule to consider an application by the United Transportation Union to eliminate the craft of locomotive engineer and order a winner-take-all representation election for operating crew members on the Union Pacific Railroad.
"We're confident the NMB will do the right thing and dismiss the UTU's reckless petition," said Clarence Monin, president of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers. "By renewing its application, the UTU has acted against the best interests of railroad workers everywhere. The UTU should know that we are prepared to do whatever we must to protect our craft."
The BLE has asked AFL-CIO President John J. Sweeney to immediately implement sanctions against the UTU for raiding another affiliated union, in violation of the federation's constitution. An AFL-CIO appeals committee authorized those sanctions last year, when the UTU originally filed its application with the NMB.
The NMB will hold a preliminary hearing on the UTU application on June 22, with the full hearing scheduled for July 6-9. A decision is expected in late August.
"The UTU has been losing members for years because of restructuring in the railroad industry," Monin said. "The BLE is a growing union -- 25 consecutive months of growth, in fact. We have tried to develop an alliance with the UTU, and all of rail labor, to strengthen the hand of rail employees at the bargaining table. It's unfortunate that the UTU now has resorted to this hostile takeover attempt."
The UTU initially filed its application to create a single craft of "train and engine service employees" in January 1998. At the urging of the AFL-CIO's President Sweeney, the BLE agreed to meet with the UTU in an effort to resolve their differences. Those talks led to the agreement on a "Statement of Principles" on unification, but the BLE Advisory Board voted unanimously on May 8 to break off talks because of financial questions.
"We were concerned that the UTU may have been using funds in violation of federal law," Monin said. "When the UTU was unable to satisfy those concerns, we had no choice but to end unification talks. We're not going to expose our members to these potential liabilities."
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