On January 12, 1998, the United Transportation Union (UTU) filed a petition with the National Mediation Board (NMB) to change the existing craft structure among operating crafts. Under the UTU proposed structure the craft of locomotive engineer would be merged with the craft representing conductors, brakemen and trainmen, creating a new train and engine service craft. The craft of Locomotive Engineer is primarily represented by the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers (BLE) on all of the major railroads in the U.S. and Canada. Trainmen, conductors and brakemen are primarily represented by the UTU on all of the major railroads in the U.S. and Canada. This action by the UTU would force an election in which UTU members and BLE members would vote as to which union would represent them. Only one of the unions would survive.

The UTU has encountered hard times over the past decade as a result of relentless assaults by rail management on them. As a result of the attack the railroads have made, UTU has lost a substantial number of members, but still have two times as many members eligible to vote than BLE does if the NMB approves the UTU petition to merge the crafts. This means that even if UTU is unable to get even one vote from engineers represented by BLE (virtually all engineers in the U.S. and Canada), UTU would still be able to win an election because they would outnumber BLE 2 to 1 in the new train and engine service craft.

One of the best memories I have as President of BMWE was receiving a standing ovation when I addressed the 1995 UTU International Convention about the need for rail labor to unite in one big union. I believed that then and I believe that now. The overall structure of rail labor requires rail labor to work together, to bargain together, to fight together as one.

Unfortunately, this cannot and should not be done at a shotgun wedding with one union attempting to use political clout at a government agency in order to force another union, and its members, to involuntarily merge with the union using the political clout. All this can lead to is a divided union, incapable of accomplishing anything more than fighting internally while the railroads take advantage of this weakness. It’s just that simple.

If the NMB were to decide this matter in favor of UTU, it would mean that all of rail labor would be subject to hostile takeovers by other unions. Fractious fights between unions could easily be the result of such a decision and the membership of the surviving unions would suffer. The craft structure may well need reform. However using the shotgun wedding approach to such reform can easily mean that the union leadership who survives in the new union will be top heavy from one craft. The specific interests of one of the crafts could easily be compromised by union leadership, even well meaning union leadership, from another craft who is not familiar with the specifics of another craft. This could lead to bad contracts for members of a craft whose numbers were too small to elect leadership in the new structure. Only voluntary affiliations and mergers can guarantee that this doesn't happen.

UTU attempted to raid the BLE in the late 1980s on Norfolk Southern. They failed. The reason they failed is because UTU was required to conduct the raid within the locomotive engineer craft and the membership of BLE in the locomotive craft rejected UTU. This is why the UTU is afraid to conduct a similar raid among engineers today. They needed a trick, so they invented a means where they could win an election to represent BLE-represented engineers even if no engineer voted for them.

In order for a serious rail labor merger to occur, it is necessary for the organizations to have similar views and work together. UTU has usually refused to do this. UTU signed an early agreement during the last national round that was rejected by its General Chairmen -- an agreement that would have set a bad pattern for the rest of rail labor.

When this was rejected, UTU signed another bad agreement which was rejected by five of the six UTU crafts and by a majority of those UTU members voting on the agreement -- after the UTU leadership group spent four months trying to convince the UTU membership that the bad agreement was a good one. UTU leadership then chose to ignore its membership and put the agreement to arbitration. The arbitration panel, of course, rammed the rejected agreement down the throats of those who rejected it.

UTU supported the nomination of Jake Simmons to the Surface Transportation Board, even though Jake Simmons regularly voted to injure railroad workers, including UTU members. All of rail labor but UTU opposed Jake Simmons. UTU supports Gus Owen for STB, even though Gus Owen regularly votes to injure railroad workers, including UTU members. All of rail labor but UTU opposes Gus Owen.

When all of rail labor asked STB Chairperson Linda Morgan to recuse herself because she prejudged and created the impetus for the Conrail carve-up, UTU refused to be included in the letter. They argued to their members that it is unwise to oppose someone who may get the position, because that person may take it out politically after they get the job. However Jake Simmons, Gus Owen and Linda Morgan have already demonstrated they will serve the railroads on all key issues.

UTU opposed the Railroad Occupational Disability strike, despite the fact that it was the strike threat, and only the strike threat, that forced negotiations which saved Railroad Occupational Disability as we know it. UTU was first to support the UP/SP merger which has gridlocked the Southwest and West and UTU was first to support the Conrail carve-up, even though their members were hurt by the UP/SP merger (they have already arbitrated and lost on major issues which hurt the UTU membership regarding the UP/SP merger).

And while our Amtrak agreement was out for ratification, UTU publicly criticized it. The agreement which was approved by 85% of the 65% of our members who were eligible to vote. If that agreement had been rejected by a majority of those voting, BMWE would not have arbitrated it down our members’ throat they way UTU President Charlie Little and his leadership group arbitrated the UTU national agreement down his members’ throats.

These actions, and numerous others, are the reasons why no one in rail labor wants to merge with UTU, including the leadership and membership of BLE. And these are the reasons why all of rail labor on January 13, 1998, one day after UTU announced its raid on BLE, condemned the UTU leadership for its actions and supported BLE.

The BLE has filed an Article XX charge with the AFL-CIO. Article XX of the AFL-CIO Constitution and By-laws forbids AFL-CIO affiliates from raiding each other. Although the AFL-CIO supports union mergers (just as I support rail union and union mergers), they realize these mergers must be voluntary. Otherwise labor will expend huge resources fighting labor and the resultant organization will be weak and ineffective.

President Little, Assistant President Boyd, Vice President of Legislative Activities Brunkenhoeffer and the other UTU leadership supporting this raid should withdraw their NMB petition, support positions in which all of rail labor concurs and make an effort to work together with everyone. This will best serve all of the memberships of all of the rail unions and provide the most effective method of bringing about rail labor mergers. They should not force a war between unions, especially when the forces of organized management are so aggressive.

UTU, the Union you save by not raiding may well be your own. The members of all of the rail unions, including yours, are better served by your withdrawing the petition and ending the raid.