RLBC Unions Ratify Agreements With the NCCC; Historic Agreement Best in a Generation for Rail Labor

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PR Newswire US
June 25, 2007 Monday 9:08 PM GMT
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RLBC Unions Ratify Agreements With the NCCC;
Historic Agreement Best in a Generation for Rail Labor
WASHINGTON June 25

WASHINGTON, June 25 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Six of the seven rail unions who make up the Rail Labor Bargaining Coalition (RLBC) have ratified their contracts with the National Carrier's Conference Committee (NCCC).

The RLBC represents seven rail labor unions whose contracts cover more than 85,000 rail workers or more than 50 percent of the carriers' employees. The seven unions in the RLBC are American Train Dispatchers Association, Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen, Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employes Division, Brotherhood of Railroad Signalmen, International Brotherhood of Boilermakers, National Conference of Firemen and Oilers/SEIU, and the Sheet Metal Workers' International Association.

The NCCC is the carriers' bargaining coalition representing the nation's major railroads in national negotiations, including Union Pacific, Burlington Northern Santa Fe, Norfolk Southern, CSX, Kansas City Southern, that transport most the rail freight in the country.

The agreement includes general wage increases totaling 17 percent (18.2 percent compounded over the life of the agreement), which will remain effective until December 31, 2009. Negotiations concluded in May after two and a half years of bargaining, after which the unions submitted the tentative agreement to their members for ratification. The final results were received today. Of the seven RLBC member unions, just the American Train Dispatchers Association failed to ratify the agreement.

"For the first time in a generation, a major portion of rail labor negotiated in solidarity," said Fred Simpson, President of the Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employes Division (BMWED), "This agreement represents a historic achievement for rail labor. By standing together, we demonstrated to the carriers that their 'divide and conquer' strategy, in which they would pit one union against another to achieve the lowest common denominator, would no longer work."

"Our members will see increases in wages and a cap on health and welfare contributions. Together with the other members of the Rail Labor Bargaining Coalition we were able to keep the carriers at bay," said Don Hahs, National President of the BLET. "I believe this contract is further evidence of the increased power rail labor has now that we have merged with the Teamsters Union and are a part of the Teamsters Rail Conference. With the support of the RLBC, we stopped the rail carriers' outrageous and dangerous proposal to reduce train crew size to one person because it imperils the safety of rail workers and the communities they serve."

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