Description : RR - 02/01/2000 - Would You Buy a Cavalier for the Price of a Porsche?

The Railroad Retirement Deal:
Paying for a 2000 Porsche and Getting a 1999 Chevy Cavalier
That You Can't Change or Upgrade for At Least 20 Years

A recent posting on the UTU website says that the BMWE is opposing the railroad retirement deal for "no good reason." As usual, their article only tells part of the story. The part of the story it doesn't tell is that by 2004 the railroads will get $347 million dollars per year of our money while we get $308 million per year of our money. We think that's bad economics, when all of the money is ours. This is like paying for a 2000 Porsche and getting a 1999 Chevy Cavalier.

Once the deal is done, the money to get better changes is gone for a long, long time.

Everyone recognizes the railroads have to get something in order to support the deal. But the proposal for the railroads to get 50% of the benefits of the deal and for us to get 50% is simply too generous to the railroads and too skimpy for us when it's all our money - it's just that simple. On top of that, labor didn't even get 50% of the deal.

Is the deal better than what we have now? Yes, the benefits are better than what we have now. But once we get those benefits and give the railroads their whopping $347 million per year, the money for further and better improvements for us is gone for the foreseeable future. We get the new 1999 Chevy Cavalier and have to drive it for 20, 30 or 40 years. Now a 1999 Chevy Cavalier, even with automatic transmission and air conditioning is a functional car - but it's not what I want when I pay for a 2000 Porsche. If I have to pay for a 2000 Porsche, at least I want a 2000 Lincoln Town Car. And remember, once you pay for the 2000 Porsche, you've exhausted the extra money in the Railroad Retirement Trust Fund. It's gone. You can't even upgrade your 1999 Chevy Cavalier until the fund is once again flush, with projections of it getting flusher.

Think about it -- Do you want to pay for a 2000 Porsche to get a 1999 Chevy Cavalier?

Ultimately this comes down to you. Those supporting the 50/50 deal that's not even 50/50 are explaining all of the features you get when you get the new 1999 Chevy Cavalier and how much better those features are than in the older model we have now. And there are many features that are better. But to the BMWE, it's not an economical deal for the membership in Rail Labor on a long term or short term basis. We are not interested in management raiding our Trust Fund unless we get a good deal for what we're buying. This deal is not a good deal for Rail Labor.

Unions representing 40% of those in Railroad Retirement do not support the deal.

UTU constantly points out there are 10 unions supporting the deal and two who do not. But they fail to note that the two unions not supporting the deal represent 40% of those who are in the Railroad Retirement System.