Early retirement was the clear preference of the thousands of BMWE members who returned bargaining priority surveys by June 11, the extended deadline. The total survey return was below expectations, but according to the statisticians, the return is more than enough to accurately assess the membership's desires for the upcoming 2000 round of bargaining.

Since the survey was confidential, limited personal information was requested but almost all members did give their age group, marital status, and number of children at home. Most members responding were between the ages of 46 and 55, were married, and had one or two children at home.

Overwhelmingly, the BMWE membership wants to see their retirement benefits improved. Given six choices, 47% of the respondents ranked improved retirement as their number one priority and another 23% listed it as number two. Forty-six percent said they would be willing to get less in wage and/or benefit increases in order to be able to retire early and another 25% were willing to pay higher taxes to do so. A little less than five percent, however, were willing to pay their own medical coverage so they could retire early.

The second choice was improved job security with 30% ranking it number one. Wage increases also finished high with a combined (ranking it number one or two) 52 percent, slightly ahead of improved job security with a combined 45 percent.

Health care issues were ranked most important by 11% of the members, with 31% ranking reducing co-pay amounts as most important under that category, followed by improved dental at 30%. The members who ranked more time off as most important said they wanted to see it in personal leave days (44%) or increased vacation (42%).

Bargaining Priorities

Given six important choices, members ranked them as follows:

Retirement Benefits 46.81%

Improved Job Security 30.07%

Salary Increase 24.58%

Improved Health Care 10.97%

More Time Off 8.16%

(Total over 100% results from some members ranking more than one issue No. 1.)

The membership also made their feelings known about contracting out. Over 90 percent agreed that contracting out is a very serious problem and that the union needs to put a stop to it. Over 80 percent understand that contracting out puts downward pressure on our wages, hurts our retirement benefits, and reduces our work opportunities. Eighty-three percent ranked contracting out as important or more important than wages and work rules.

It was noted on the survey that many members are now working hours other than Monday through Friday with weekends off. If affected by this issue, members were asked to rank three solutions and 44% said they felt that premium pay for all hours worked during alternative weeks was the preferred solution with prohibition of alternate work week coming in second at 23%.

Members affected by increasingly large territories were asked to rank three possible solutions. Of the three choices given, reducing the size of territories was number one with 52% followed by full and actual expenses as number two at 36%. Along with this, 61% strongly stated that they felt they are not adequately compensated for working away from home and many members indicated in one form or another that the railroads need to "Hire More People!"

Now BMWE leadership clearly knows that the membership wants to be able to retire early. But that goal is not going to be easily reached--there will be many obstacles to overcome. For one, and probably most important, the BMWE is the only rail union currently pushing for early retirement. The leadership of the other rail unions are not making it a priority in their bargaining. Without the other rail unions' support, changes in the Railroad Retirement Act will be impossible to get. Unless we enlist the aid of all rail labor, we will have to go it alone. That means we will have to bargain for a BMWE-specific plan to cover us until we are eligible for Railroad Retirement. That will not be an easy task.

Perhaps there is a way to get the rest of rail labor on board for a push to lower the retirement age under Railroad Retirement. It would require massive effort on the part of our membership. If our members undertook an effort to communicate and educate the membership of the other rail unions about the possibilities for early retirement, then perhaps they would communicate their desires to their leadership. Only if there is ground swell of demand from their members will they act. If you are one of the thousands of members who want to retire early, you must act with your brothers and sisters to get other union members on board. Without their support the goal will be very difficult, it not impossible, to reach.

If you want to work towards building early retirement as a unified rail labor goal, contact your general chairman and he can provide you with information on how to build support in the other rail unions.

Now that the membership has made their contract issues known, it is time to back up those demands with action. We must begin mobilizing ourselves in order to maximize our leverage at the bargaining table. Successful bargaining has a lot to do with the perception of power and membership actions are critical to that perception and success at the bargaining table.

Perception of Power

Poodle or

Which one would you like to see on your side of the bargaining table?

With the survey results in, the second major membership action in the year 2000 round of bargaining is about to begin. The BMWE is launching a campaign to register 100% of its members and their families to vote in the 2000 elections. This campaign is designed to raise the BMWE's level of respect (power) with railroad management, within the labor movement, and with the politicians.

As we get closer to the 2000 Round, it essential that the BMWE increase our leverage over the railroads. In order for us to secure the contract improvements the membership needs, we must be able to prove to the railroads we have the power to get what we need. Power at the bargaining table is about how railroad management perceives the BMWE's ability to exercise control over railroad profitability.

If railroad management perceives us as weak, unorganized and without allies, then they will treat us like whipped pups. That is, they will gladly confront us and refuse to concede to any of our demands. Whining and begging does not work at the bargaining table.

On the other hand, if railroad management perceives us as strong, well organized and with strong alliances within and outside of rail labor, they will respect us and will try to avoid confrontation. They will bargain on the basis that reaching a fair compromise on our issues will be more profitable than taking us on in a struggle. Carrying respect through strength to the bargaining table will secure far greater gains.

Collective bargaining has a lot more to it than simple give and take. Both sides are constantly weighing the impact of their proposals. If we are perceived as strong, then every time we make a proposal management will consider how the membership will react if that proposal is not in the final settlement. On the other hand, if we are perceived as weak, management will assume that the membership will do nothing, making it very easy to refuse that proposal.

Our voter registration drive, if successful, will go a long ways towards building respect from railroad management. A massive increase in the number of BMWE members who are registered will demonstrate to them that we are well organized and prepared to act in unison, two things any management fears most from their workers.

A successful voter registration drive will also raise our standing within rail labor and the entire labor movement. By showing that our members are motivated and active, it will give us greater credibility and respect within the labor movement. Therefore, when we ask the rest of the labor movement to back us on other actions, they will be more likely to follow our lead.

Finally, a successful voter registration campaign will give us more power in Washington and the state capitols. As every member should know, Washington politics plays a big part in our contract negotiations. We all know that many times our contracts are based on the recommendations of a Presidential Emergency Board (PEB). PEBs are fact-finding panels appointed by the President. It only makes sense that the President will give greater consideration to appointing a truly fair panel if all 45,000 BMWE members in the U.S. and their families are registered to vote. Considering voter registration typically runs 50 percent or less across the U.S., 100,000 registered voters would get the same consideration as a medium sized city. Presidential candidates campaign regularly in medium sized cities and are not in the habit of just blowing their needs off.

As we move further into the 2000 Round there will be many more actions that the members can and will have to take to demonstrate our strength. Every action we take will give us an opportunity to increase management's perception of our power. Likewise, it will also give us an opportunity to fail and lower management's perception of our power. It is up to all of us, every member and every member's family to take the actions necessary to secure the contract improvements we need.