BLE Vice Presidents Call UTU NMB Plan "absolutely brilliant"

BLE Vice Presidents call UTU
NMB plan "absolutely brilliant"

Little says that historical crafts of engineers, conductors and trainmen
will continue to exist after Union Pacific election;

There will be no dovetailing of seniority rosters

CLEVELAND – At meetings sponsored by the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers (BLE) in St. Louis and North Platte last week, two BLE Vice Presidents praised the United Transportation Union (UTU) for its strategy asking the National Mediation Board (NMB) to sanction a representation election on the Union Pacific Railroad.

In St. Louis and North Platte, BLE Vice Presidents Bill Walpert and Ed Rodzwicz called the UTU’s NMB strategy "absolutely brilliant" and "brilliant," according to multiple witnesses who attended the meetings. Walpert and Rodzwicz also praised UTU International leadership for the manner in which they have developed the strategy surrounding the NMB application to hold a representation election on the Union Pacific Railroad.

Walpert is the BLE Vice President in charge of public relations. He is the BLE officer who told Traffic World Magazine in the mid-1990s that the BLE’s plan was to put the UTU out of business, which the UTU cited to the NMB as evidence of the engineer union’s true intent regarding the UTU.

At these BLE-sponsored meetings, Walpert and Rodzwicz have been using half-truths and scare tactics with operating employees by saying the UTU will "erase" the craft of Locomotive Engineer. They are also saying the UTU may "dovetail" seniority rosters.

"Let me say this again," said UTU International President Charles L. Little. "The historical crafts of locomotive engineer, conductor, and trainman will continue unchanged when the UTU wins a representation election on the Union Pacific Railroad. The BLE has even acknowledged that fact at the NMB during our hearings in July. The only change is that one collective bargaining agent -- the UTU -- will represent all of the historical crafts instead of two after we win a vote on the Union Pacific, if so ordered."

Little said that talk of dovetailed seniority rosters is "not even on the radar screen."

"There will be no dovetailing of seniority rosters because there will still be three historical crafts doing their jobs," Little said. "You can take that to the bank. Seniority will remain as it always has been when the UTU replaces the BLE on the Union Pacific."

Little questioned how any "thinking union member" can trust anything the BLE says after it was found guilty by the Canadian Industrial Relations Board (CIRB) of "lying" during a representation election on VIA Rail in 1997 that the BLE narrowly won.

"If the BLE was found guilty of lying in a representation election on VIA Rail over 300 jobs," said Little, "there is no telling what kind of lies they will tell to Union Pacific employees when 22,000 jobs are at stake. From what we have been hearing, they are telling some real whoppers that don’t have a grain of truth."

On October 22, Canada’s Labour Board – CIRB – found the BLE guilty of lying to union members in a representation election on VIA Rail, and of "improper collaboration" with VIA Rail to eliminate the craft of conductor on the national passenger rail carrier.

The CIRB said:

"On all accounts, (BLE’s) campaign representations appear to have been based on unverified facts and assumptions, for example, that conductors and assistant conductors would obtain the similar benefits and conditions as the locomotive engineers, that they would have equal access to training and that the Special Agreement would apply."

"The complainants have been successful in establishing that the BLE was not vigilant in protecting and job seniority interests of an important part of the bargaining unit. It relied on the majority vote to justify its action, without addressing the hard core issues that affect almost half of the bargaining unit. The benefits obtained on behalf of the conductors and assistant conductors, which are for the most part directed at terminating their employment."

The unprecedented ruling by the CIRB is the first time in history that a labor union has been found guilty by a national government of lying to union workers and collaborating with a carrier to reduce union jobs

Response to the BLE-sponsored meetings has been small all over the Union Pacific territory. For example, only four BLE members showed up at the first day of meetings in St. Louis. The BLE cancelled the second day of meetings because no members came. Reports from other locations, including Houston, where the BLE has called meetings also tell of light turnouts.