As you are probably all aware, under the Railway Labor Act, contracts remain in effect until a new one is agreed upon or until the parties are able to resort to self-help. In national bargaining, the parties are virtually never able to resort to self-help until the National Mediation Board proffers arbitration to them. At that point, both parties can accept arbitration or either party may reject it and resort to self-help.

Usually, when this happens, the National Mediation Board recommends a Presidential Emergency Board be established. This Board hears the parties, and makes non-binding recommendations which either party may accept or reject. If either party rejects the recommendations, there is a 30-day period in which they may attempt to negotiate a new agreement, after which they are free to exercise self-help. When this point occurs, Congress usually steps in and imposes the recommendations of the Presidential Emergency Board on the parties and a new contract is imposed.

This process is a complex one. It starts when the parties serve Section 6 Notices on each other. Section 6 Notices are, from a union standpoint, the demands the union has (increased wages, benefits, better working conditions, improved job security, enhanced pension, etc.). From a management standpoint Section 6 Notices are the demands management has on the union (reducing labor costs, pay lump sums instead of wage increases, more flexibility to contract out, ignore seniority, higher worker co-pay on medical insurance, etc.).

After the parties serve their notices, they are required to bargain in good faith to reach agreement. If the parties are unable to reach agreement, either party can break off negotiations. If within 10 days, neither party invokes mediation or the National Mediation Board does not on its own offer mediation, the parties are free to resort to self-help.

In a national case, this never happens and the carriers generally invoke mediation. While we are negotiating our agreement, virtually all of the other crafts are within a similar (though not identical) time line. The NMB usually becomes involved in each dispute the railroads have with each craft and attempts to schedule mediation for all. This usually means that the NMB controls much of the procedure and scheduling of negotiations and mediation.

Despite denials, the railroads attempt to delay the negotiations process as long as they can because it usually means they are able to save money in retroactive payments when an agreement is finally reached. The NMB plays into this to some degree.

During the last round of negotiations the NMB delayed proffering arbitration to BMWE despite our being in a deadlock with the railroads for many months. They did this in deference to UTU and allowed the failed UTU ratification to take several months before they proffered arbitration to other crafts. When they did proffer, they proffered to virtually all of the crafts in a very narrow time frame, despite the fact that BMWE had requested to be released months earlier than the other crafts.

In fairness, it must be remembered that the NMB proffered arbitration to BMWE within 15 months of the time the term of the contract ended, which was far more fair than during the PEB 219 round of bargaining, but still much too delayed. BMWE is looking to conclude the 2000 round of bargaining by July 2000 at the latest.

There are many aspects to preparing for a bargaining round. In order to be prepared to bargain, all of the data we use to support our demands must be gathered, processed and put into a presentable form. This process is ongoing and also assists in the event the round goes to a Presidential Emergency Board. It is also necessary so that we are able to bargain with the railroads on an equal footing.

The most important portion of the preparations and for conducting a successful round of bargaining is the mobilization component. Because all of our issues involve the federal government (the National Mediation Board, perhaps a Presidential Emergency Board and, perhaps Congress), it is critical that the leadership and membership of the BMWE is mobilized, vocal and militant and working with as much harmony as possible with the other crafts and with the rest of the labor movement.

We are a small union with little political clout on our own. In order to maximize that clout, we are dependent on larger labor organizations and the AFL-CIO in order to even begin to have a successful result in bargaining. As the year 2000 is an election year, the AFL-CIO will have its agenda full, and we will need the assistance institutionally of larger unions within the AFL-CIO.

Part of the mobilization requires the membership to be responsive when they are called upon, whether it is for informational picketing, attending local lodge meetings, writing to Congress and/or the President or to accurately fill out the survey the BMWE will send to each member in the Spring of 1999.

The purpose of the survey is for BMWE to have the broadest possible input from the membership as to what they consider the most important objectives of the round. It is important to prioritize those issues in order to give direction to the bargaining committee. For example, if retirement at age 55 and 30 years of service is what the member considers to be most important, more important than increased wages, contracting out, etc., he or she should indicate that in the appropriate place on the survey. If it is less important than increased wages, job security, contracting, etc., then you should fill out the survey accordingly.

When the membership and leadership are properly mobilized, the AFL-CIO knows it and realizes that its constituents are doing their part to obtain a good result. Under the Sweeney/Trumka/Chavez-Thompson leadership, rail labor in general and the BMWE in particular has received nothing but superb assistance and support. This is because the new AFL-CIO leadership believes in serving its members and sees the BMWE as a fighting organization. It is also because we have received assistance from some of the larger unions in the process.

Please take part in this process by voicing your ideas at your local lodge meetings, by writing to us and reading the Journal and the correspondence we will be sending you. Your system officers have in place mechanisms to keep you informed and to hear your ideas. Use them. In the end, all we have is ourselves.

Delaware and Hudson

Although there are a couple of smaller roads whose bargaining from the 1995 round is still ongoing, the successful resolution of negotiations on the Delaware & Hudson Railroad (a subsidiary of the Canadian Pacific) ended the '95 round of bargaining on all large and medium sized properties in the U.S. The Delaware & Hudson agreement was ratified on November 30, 1998 by an overwhelming vote. General Chairman Stuart Hurlburt of the Northeast System Federation stated: "We are delighted with the agreement we reached with the CP. It provided much needed, substantial wage increases, significant enhancements to job security, improvements in benefits and an equity wage adjustment recognizing our increased skill levels. I would like to thank my bargaining committee and Grand Lodge for the assistance provided during the round and most of all the membership for their perseverance, patience and courage during this difficult round of bargaining. Although we still need substantial improvements, especially in the contracting out of work area, the contract was well worth the wait."