It's time to get down to bargaining, and for the BLE that means it's time to take a hard look at members' biggest concerns about their standard of living and quality of life.
In preparation for what may be the most difficult negotiations in years,
the International Division is sending out a mail-back survey asking members
to rate their top priorities for collective bargaining with Class 1 carriers.
Negotiations begin after Section 6 notices are issued by the union in November.
The membership survey, approved by the Wage & Rules Committee June 1, will be used as the basis for the Section 6 notice and will inform union negotiators at both the national handling and individual carrier levels.
"We've got a lot at stake in the upcoming round of bargaining, particularly with the UTU refusing to cooperate and, in fact, attacking our craft before the NMB just as we are preparing for bargaining," said BLE President Clarence Monin. "We felt that a membership survey conducted by the International would strenghthen our hand going into the negotiations."
Previous bargaining surveys in recent years have been conducted by the various General Committees and have been carrier-specific. The union-wide survey will be sorted by carrier so that it will provide information that will be useful for both the General Committees and for the National Wage & Rules Committee.
"Surveys we've conducted have been very helpful in previous rounds of bargaining with Burlington Northern," said BNSF General Chairman Tim Murphy, who sits on the Wage & Rules Committee. "It will be extremely useful to see how things stack up in different parts of the country."
Wage & Rules Committee representatives Murphy, Robert Godwin, Cletus Roy and Don Hahs approved the idea of a national survey during a telephone conference call June 1 with Monin and First Vice-President Ed Dubroski.
"Knowing exactly where members stand on bargaining issues makes us stronger at the table," Monin pointed out. "And a survey also gives our members a chance to be heard."
Monin urged members to fill out and return their questionnaires as soon as possible.
"We really don't have much time to get ready for bargaining," he said. "There's a lot of work to do."
Metra, the commuter railroad in Chicago, is currently seeking to build a bank of interested engineers for current and future vacancies.
Qualified applicants will possess a minimum of three years of full time main line experience. Applicants much have an excellent work record (suspension free for last three years), and passenger experience is preferred.
Metra offers excellent compensation and benefits package, and a stable work environment with no out of town travel required.
Interested applicants should contact:
METRA
Office of Personnel
547 W. Jackson Blvd.
Chicago, IL 60661
ATTN: Tom Blum, Manager of Employment Relations
FAX: (312) 322-8937
E-mail: tblum@metrarr.com
The Delaware and Hudson Railway Company seeks certified locomotive engineers for its Binghamton and Saratoga Terminals in New York.
The company will only consider resumes that include the following:
Send resume to:
Employee Administration Dept.
Delaware & Hudson Railway Co.
P.O. Box 8002
Clifton Park, NY 12065-8002
FAX: (518) 383-7264
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