As I'm sure you all remember from the last round of bargaining, a contract round is a major undertaking for all levels of the BMWE. Every member, every local lodge officer, every Grand Lodge officer and System officer and their staffs, must work with all of the dedication and commitment possible in order to obtain a good result. The last round of bargaining produced an agreement in which about 70% of the members returned ballots and over 85% of those returning ballots voted for the agreement.

To maintain the level of unity and commitment we developed last time, there are several things we must do. First, I urge all of you to read the Journal. We will be covering the bargaining in the Journal and also describing the various actions we will take during the round. This doesn't mean that everything discussed at the bargaining table will appear in the Journal, but it does mean that you will have the ability to see the general direction we are taking.

Second, I urge as many of you as possible to attend your Lodge meetings and provide input to your System Officers regarding where you want to end up. Additionally, we welcome all ideas that you have and the best place to put them forward is at the meetings. Those of you who live too far away to get to Lodge meetings should speak to your System Officers when they come out to the gangs and/or contact Grand Lodge with your ideas. BMWE leadership knows that the power of our union resides in the membership.

The BMWE Grand Lodge Officers and staff and the Strategic Planning Committee have been at work for nearly two years getting prepared for this round of bargaining and as a result of the survey have some sense of where you want us to go.

When all of the various segments of the union work together, listen to each other and demonstrate solidarity, we are best able to obtain good results. If we decide to jump the gun, to attack each other, to play games of one-upmanship, try to act like Lone Rangers, we end up with inferior agreements. It's just that simple.

A round of bargaining has many moving parts. There is the need for internal unity. But given the political nature of the Railway Labor Act process, there is also a great need for unity among the various rail crafts and within the Labor Movement itself. It is essential that all of these parts are well oiled and working together.

There is no question that we will have the full support of the AFL-CIO. Some of you may remember that President John Sweeney testified at the beginning of each of the Presidential Emergency Boards that occurred during the last round of bargaining and provided all resources at his disposal to the rail crafts. You may also remember that AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Richard Trumka assisted in the bargaining process, providing counsel and assistance to BMWE during critical times and that AFL-CIO Executive Vice President Linda Chavez-Thompson spoke all around the U.S. to keep our issues at the front of the Labor Movement. The AFL-CIO Legislative Department was tireless in providing us access to Congress and the White House and made it clear to all that we could not simply be ignored because our numbers are small. Additionally leaders of large unions, especially, but not limited to, SEIU were behind us every step of the way with people and with resources.

Our members are highly skilled and critical to the success of the railroads. Our work is hard, done in all weather, and dangerous. We have the most productive maintenance of way force on the Planet Earth and expect to be properly paid and provided with benefits and working conditions which recognize that fact. Our members are aging now, as the generation hired during the mid-70s moves closer to retirement age. The work takes a great toll on our bodies, and we need all of the relief we seek in order that our lives and the lives of our families improve.

Over the next several months, we will be contacting you all through the Journal, at Lodge meetings and on the job to discuss a variety of actions we are planning. We will be interested in your input in developing the tactics we wish to use and we will want every one of you to take part in this fight -- take part in the mobilizations and the actions we plan.

A united BMWE, working closely with the other rail crafts and the AFL-CIO will prevail in any battle that we take on. But the level of unity required is the precondition for any victory. I ask all of you to get prepared for this round and to view it as if your lives--your families' lives--and your futures are at stake. They are.

Solidarity forever.