BLE DOES NOT LIKE
THE EXCLUSIVITY PRINCIPLE THEY INVENTED

CLEVELAND, December 1 -- The Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers ("BLE") has flooded their website with yet another report that five of their trainmen members are suing the Union Pacific Railroad ("UP") and the United Transportation Union ("UTU") allegedly because BLE cannot represent them in claim and grievance handling. All that UTU knows about the case is what BLE says in its release because the complaint has not even been served on UTU.

"From their release, it looks like BLE does not like the exclusivity principle they established in the Landers case in the Supreme Court in 1988 being applied to them," said UTU International President Charles L. Little. "We will wait until we get the complaint before commenting further, but if the practice on any property is that only UTU can handle the claims and grievances of conductors and trainmen, that is entirely the way it should be, and we will defend that position," Little added.  "The BLE Constitution states, 'The purpose of this organization shall be to combine the interests of locomotive engineers or other persons in railway service who are now, or may be hereafter become eligible to membership in this organization.'" "We all know how the BLE only offers reduced dues to others (who we call conductors and trainmen) to organize against the UTU, because there is really no place for them in the BLE," Little concluded.

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