NMB to decide on
Union Pacific representation
election by March 1

CLEVELAND -- A final decision is expected by March 1 on whether there will be a representation election on the Union Pacific Railroad between the United Transportation Union (UTU) and Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers (BLE).

A special three-member panel of prominent labor-relations professionals appointed in early January by the National Mediation Board (NMB) will issue its decision by the March 1 deadline. If the BLE had agreed to resume voluntary negotiations with the UTU the deadline would have been March 29.

The BLE, however, refused to hold any further talks with the UTU.

In a December 30, 1999, letter to the UTU and BLE, the NMB suggested, but did not require, that the two unions resume voluntary discussions to resolve their dispute through mutual agreement. The NMB also recommended the use of Thomas Donahue, who had acted as AFL-CIO facilitator when the two unions signed a unification agreement in November 1998. In its letter, the NMB determined to refer the resolution of the representation dispute to a three-member panel of prominent labor relations professionals.

The panel members chosen by the NMB to resolve the UTU/BLE dispute are noted for their knowledge and wealth of experience in labor relations.

Arnold M. Zack, Richard I. Bloch and Richard R. Kasher will make a final and binding decision.

International President Charles L. Little contacted Donahue on January 6, but the BLE never contacted the former AFL-CIO president. The BLE wrote to the NMB on January 10, saying it would not resume talks with the UTU and later asked that the panel hold another hearing. The panel declined to hold any further hearings on the dispute at that time.

"We never left the table and have never left the unification process," said Little. "We trust that the special panel of labor relations professionals will act on the merits of this case and agree with the UTU that a representation dispute does exist on the Union Pacific Railroad among its train and engine service employees. We look forward to resolving this issue once and for all."

Little added, "It's the beginning of a new century and we believe the right thing to do today, as it was the right thing to do in the last century, is for the UTU and BLE to unite on a powerful, fraternal basis."

If the panel agrees with the UTU's petition, an election would then be ordered on the Union Pacific Railroad after the March 1 ruling. The UTU and BLE represent approximately 22,000 employees on the UP. The UTU represents about 14,000 employees and the BLE represents about 8,000 workers.

In his conversation with Donahue, Little revisited the UTU's commitment in time and resources to unification between the two unions. On May 8, 1999, without notice to the UTU or Donahue, the BLE issued a press release saying it was ending its involvement in unification even after its two top International officers had signed the unification agreement.

The BLE then became embroiled in a bitter recall election in which less than 50% of its members bothered to vote. In that election, International President Clarence V. Monin was defeated by only 18 votes by then-First Vice President Ed Dubroski. After winning by the slimmest of margins, Dubroski was tagged with the nickname "Landslide Eddie." He is the BLE's sixth president in the last 15 years. Both Monin and Dubroski signed the unification agreement with the UTU but later reneged on their word.

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