Southfield, MI, May 14, 2002 -- The Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employes set up picket lines at Indiana Harbor Belt headquarters in Hammond, Indiana at 6:00 AM Central time today.

The BMWE is the union that represents the 45,000 rail workers who build and maintain the track, bridges and buildings on the railroads in the United States and Canada.

Approximately 150 BMWE members maintain the Indiana Harbor Belt's large interchange in and around the greater Chicago area.

After almost two and a half years of negotiations, talks with the railroad carrier have come to a standstill. The BMWE's repeated efforts to keep the talks going have been rebuffed. After canceling the last two scheduled meetings on short notice, the carrier did not even return telephone calls.

"We thought we were getting close to an agreement, but changes in management personnel earlier this year put the talks in a tailspin," said BMWE General Chairman Perry Geller. "Their dismissive attitude left us no choice but to strike; they didn't even invoke mediation".

The major issues the BMWE is looking to resolve in a new agreement include wages, benefits and job protection.