BMWE Strike on DM&IR

On the morning of January 31, 2000, BMWE members struck the Duluth, Missabe & Iron Range Railway over the carrier's unilateral change to the agreement by forcing substitution of paid leave (vacation time) for unpaid leave during periods when members were absent from work pusuant to the federal Family and Medical Leave Act. The carriers obtained a temporary restraining order on the evening of February 1 retaining the status quo, meaning the BMWE was restrained from striking and the company's policy was temporarily suspended. Thereafter the parties issued the following joint statement: "The parties have agreed to explore ways to resolve the issue, and if necessary return to court in late March. In the meantime, the Union (BMWE) has agreed to return to work and the Company (DM&IR) has agreed to temporarily suspend the policy."

CN and BNSF Propose Merger

In December, the Canadian National and Burlington Northern Santa Fe announced their proposal to merge their two rail systems into a "50,000-mile system that would employ about 67,000 people, have annual revenue of $12.5 billion and stretch from Halifax, N.S., on the Atlantic Ocean to Houston and New Orleans along the Gulf Coast to Vancouver, B.C., and Los Angeles on the Pacific Coast. The new system would be called North American Rail Inc. and be headquartered in Montreal. BNSF would operate as a subsidiary of the new system and remain headquartered in Fort Worth." (Association of American Railroads Train-It, December 30, 1999.)

On January 11 the CEOs of Canadian Pacific Railway, CSX Corporation, Norfolk Southern Corporation and Union Pacific Corporation, placed a full-page "Open Letter to Railroad Customers" in the Wall Street Journal, the Washington Post and the Journal of Commerce, urging shippers and others to support them in opposing the proposed merger. On the same day, the United Transportation Union issued a press release opposing the merger.

The proposed merger is subject to approval by the U.S. Surface Transportation Board and officials said they expected regulatory review to take from 18 to 24 months. CN must also submit a Plan of Arrangement to a Canadian court to confirm that the plan is fair to CN shareholders and complies with all relevant Canadian legal and regulatory requirements.

On January 28, prompted in part because of the concerns raised over this proposed merger, the STB announced a public hearing regarding major railroad consolidations and the current and future structure of the North American railroad industry would be held March 8 in Washington, DC.

The BMWE, along with other members of the Rail Division of the AFL-CIO Transportation Trades Department, is studying the situation intently and evaluating the potential impact on their members. BMWE has met once to discuss the proposal with BNSF Chairman and CEO Robert D. Krebs and CN Chairman, President and CEO Paul M. Tellier and additional meetings are being planned. Other rail unions have also scheduled meetings with Krebs and Tellier.

Transportation Labor Denounces Report of Amtrak Reform Council

On January 24 the Amtrak Reform Council's First Annual Report was released. On the same day, the following statement by Sonny Hall, President of the the AFL-CIO Transportation Trades Department was issued.

Given the conclusions contained in the First Annual Report of the Amtrak Reform Council entitled "A Preliminary Assessment of Amtrak," it seems a more apt title would be "A Preliminary Death Wish For Amtrak."

While the ARC was created by Congress -- and since funded over the objections of a bipartisan majority of the House of Representatives -- to provide objective assessments of Amtrak operations and offer ideas to help secure America's passenger railroad, this report amounts to nothing more than a tired rehash of the privatization rhetoric we've been hearing for three decades.

Transportation labor has repeatedly voiced concerns about the "dismantle and privatize" bias which has characterized the attitudes of a number of the members of the ARC. This report simply validates those concerns and leaves little doubt that the ideological basis against Amtrak is very much alive and thriving within the ARC.

The report also represents yet another insult to the 20,000 Amtrak workers who have repeatedly sacrificed to ensure that Americans continue to have intercity passenger rail service as a transportation option. From the outset of ARC, Amtrak's dedicated workers and their unions have been given short shrift by most members of the Council with little or no attention being paid to the people who make the system work and who in turn have much to offer in terms of making Amtrak operationally and financially secure for the long haul.

Finally the report is an insult to the American taxpayers who have footed the bill for hundreds of thousands of dollars of wasted spending by the ARC, including extensive travel throughout the United States and Europe for meetings about which there is little or no information.

Transportation labor will redouble its efforts to provide Americans with the best possible passenger rail service in the form of a revitalized Amtrak that will be a part of America's transportation network for the long term. It's extremely disheartening and unfortunate that the Amtrak Reform Council chose to waste taxpayer dollars on a report that is void of innovation for a viable Amtrak and bloated with tired rhetoric of the past.

Also on January 24, Rodney Slater, Secretary of the U. S. Department of Transportation, issued a statement, which follows, concerning the ARC Report.

President Clinton and Vice President Gore believe that Amtrak plays a vital role in the nation's transportation system, and are encouraged by Amtrak's financial performance and movement toward operational self-sufficiency.

Amtrak continues to make tremendous strides in a variety of areas. For the first time in the corporation's history, Amtrak has increased ridership for three consecutive years -- 10 percent since 1997. Last year, Amtrak increased its commercial revenues by 16 percent. And Acela regional service will begin on Jan. 31, beginning the ramp-up to full high-speed service later this year.

These financial improvements have been recognized by the private sector: Moody's raised Amtrak's credit rating and said it expects Amtrak to be operationally self-sufficient by 2003. Last week, Standard & Poor's issued a positive report about Amtrak's performance. It is unfortunate that the ARC has not recognized these milestones to date.

I am concerned that the report released by the ARC today has mischaracterized the intent of this administration and Congress regarding the definition of operating self-sufficiency that has been used in Amtrak's planning and in the inspector general's reviews. Further, the ARC report was issued without adequate time for review, discussion of its findings or of Amtrak's concerns in a public meeting.

I remain confident that Amtrak will reach operating self-sufficiency as required by law and thrive in the 21^st century.

New National Mediation Board Chairman

Effective January 1, 2000, Ernest W. DuBester became the new Chairman of the National Mediation Board. DuBester was first nominated to the NMB by President Clinton on September 24, 1993 and was unanimously confirmed by the U.S. Senate for a third term on November 19, 1999. He previously served as NMB Chairman from December 1993 through July 1995 and again from July 1997 through July 1998. DuBester replaces Magdalena G. Jacobsen, who remains a Member of the Board. The third Member is Francis J. Duggan. The NMB is a federal agency that was established in 1934 by the Railway Labor Act which governs labor-management relations in the railroad and airline industries, two of the most heavily unionized industries in the country.

New Surface Transportation Board Vice Chairman

Surface Transportation Board Chairman Linda J. Morgan announced on January 4, 2000 that the Board had designated Commissioner Wayne Burkes as its Vice Chairman. He succeeded Commissioner William Clyburn, Jr., who served in that position during 1999. Burkes, the fifth Board Member since the agency's creation in 1996 (succeeding the Interstate Commerce Commission) was nominated to the Board by President Clinton and confirmed by the Senate on February 22, 1999, for a term expiring December 31, 2002. Clyburn, the fourth member of the Board since its creation, was nominated by President Clinton on September 2, 1997 and began service on December 18, 1998 for a term that expires December 31, 2000.

The Nation Remembers Dr. King

Honoring Dr. Martin Luther King, union members from around the country joined political leaders and the Atlanta community for a five-day (Jan. 13 - 17) celebration of Dr. King's legacy of fighting for justice for America's poor and minorities. On January 17, AFL-CIO President John Sweeney, Teamsters President James P. Hoffa, AFGE President Bobby Harnage and UNITE Vice President Clayola Brown capped off the celebration by joining 100,000 people in a mass march and rally in King's honor through Atlanta streets. "Let us rededicate ourselves to preserving and protecting the laws he preached for and prayed for and marched for and died for," Sweeney said. During the weekend, members of affiliated unions shared their skills with the community. Transport Workers and PACE International Union members distributed truckloads of donated paper goods and supplies to community agencies, while Machinists rehabilitated the home of a grandmother raising eight grandchildren. Painters and Allied Trades and other building trades unions members repaired a homeless shelter. Volunteers from other unions, including UAW, Electrical Workers, UNITE, Food and Commercial Workers, Communications Workers, AFSCME, AFT, Postal Workers, SEIU and AFGE pitched in on projects ranging from packing lunches for AIDS patients to restoring a stream bank. Four members of the Congressional Black Caucus joined AFL-CIO Executive Vice President Linda Chavez-Thompson for a town hall meeting with students, union members and the Atlanta community to discuss the financial and political implications of Census 2000.

Biggest Union Growth In Decades

Union membership rose by more than 265,000 in 1999 -- the largest annual increase in 20 years, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Jan. 19. The number of union members in the United States rose from 16.21 million to 16.48 million last year, the report said, and the percentage of U.S. workers who belong to unions remained steady at 13.9 percent. That percentage had been going down in recent years. Because unions have committed greater energy and resources to helping workers gain a voice at work, much of the membership growth was due to an increase in the number of workers forming unions. At least 600,000 workers organized into unions in 1999, according to internal AFL-CIO and affiliate union data -- an increase of more than 25 percent over 1998. "We've gotten this train rolling and picking up speed, but we're not at our destination yet," AFL-CIO President John Sweeney told reporters at a news briefing. Significantly, the percentage of private sector workers in unions remained steady, ending a 20-year decline. Some unions had their best organizing year in recent history. For instance, nearly 50,000 workers each joined the UAW and the Electrical Workers, and more than 150,000 joined SEIU.

FOR SALE?

In the first six months of 1999, health insurers, Big Business groups, banks and other special interests spent $697 million to lobby the U.S. Congress. The new report, based on Federal Election Commission filings, was issued by FECInfo, an Internet consulting group that specializes in tracking political spending. The top two spenders were the American Medical Association ($8.8 million) and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce ($8.4 million). Of the 513 groups that spent more than $250,000, only eight were union organizations, spending $10.2 million of the $697 million in total lobbying spending. The biggest spender was the health care industry, with $95.5 million spent while Congress was debating managed care reform and the Patients' Bill of Rights. The PBOR was severely weakened in the version passed by the Senate.