Hundreds gather in D.C. to protest UTU petition

WASHINGTON -- Nearly 1,000 unionists marched through the streets of the nation's capital on July 6, protesting an effort to eliminate the craft of locomotive engineer.

"We are here today to fight for our craft, which we have represented on the nation's railroads for 136 years," Clarence V. Monin, president of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers, told a rally at Lafayette Park. "Our members freely chose the BLE to represent their interests, and the government shouldn't take that right away from them."

The rally coincided with the first day of hearings by the National Mediation Board on an application by the United Transportation Union to create a single craft of operating rail crew member, and to hold a winner-take-all representation election on the Union Pacific Railroad. Full story

AFL-CIO Sanctions UTU, asks NMB for dismissal The nation's labor federation, representing 13 million union members, slapped the United Transportation Union with sanctions because it is seeking to raid the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers, in violation of the AFL-CIO constitution Why AFL-CIO support is important for BLE On July 1 and July 2, the AFL-CIO implemented two key actions that will go a long way in supporting the BLE in its crusade to preserve the craft of locomotive engineer and the union's 136 years of history and tradition. UTU gets story wrong -- again Closing arguments made by BLE Counsel George Cohen were taken out of context in a United Transportation Union press release posted to its website on July 12 Follow-up Last month we featured three BLE members who were highly concerned about the future of the locomotive engineer's craft and planned to travel to D.C. for the July rally and march. All three made it to D.C., and we caught up with them for their reactions in the days following the event. Members cash in at 72nd annual SMA in Biloxi Darvin Faust hosted the 72nd annual Southeastern Meeting Association's convention in Biloxi, Miss., from June 20-24. The conference was held at the newly constructed Beau Rivage hotel and casino ... Gridlock envelops NS, CSX lines CSX and Norfolk Southern have stumbled through the first month of operating former Conrail lines as computer glitches, terminal congestion, and changing traffic patterns began bogging down both systems shortly after the June 1 breakup. United bargaining The unions representing workers on the nation's largest railroads will work together to convince rail carriers to share the wealth generated in today's booming economy, said Clarence V. Monin, president of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers, as he assumed the chair of the Rail Division of the AFL-CIO's Transportation Trades Department.

Volume 13 - Number 7 July 1999 View Newsletter in Adobe PDF format Bargaining survey due 8/9/99 Calendar & Events Advisory Board June Activity Search Newsletter ARCHIVES [1999] [1998] [1997] BLE Publications Committee Clarence V. Monin International President Edward Dubroski First Vice-President & Alternate President Russell W. Bennett General Secretary-Treasurer Leroy D. Jones Vice-President & U.S. National Legislative Representative William C. Walpert Vice-President & Editor   John Bentley Jr. Associate Editor

©2001 Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers