Well worth the wait
Last month, we announced the UTU and the nation's major freight railroads had reached a tentative deal for a new collective bargaining agreement.

We said the agreement would cover train and engine service employees, and yardmasters, who make up nearly a third of the railroads' work force, and about 95% of the nation's Class I operating employees. We noted this was the first agreement to be reached between the railroads and any of the 13 standard labor unions taking part in the round of bargaining that began a year ago, and that details would be forthcoming.

That's all we said, and all we could say.

Since then, the phones have been ringing with inquiries from UTU members, who have every right to be curious about a historic contract that will have a major positive impact on their occupations and on the security of their families.

Members want to know what's in the contract, how it affects them, and where its provisions come into play. Most of all, they want to know when they can see the document for themselves.

We knew when we had a tentative agreement in hand, word about it would travel fast, some of which would be accurate and some of which would not.

The members of the UTU National Negotiating Team, headed by Assistant President Byron A. Boyd, Jr., agreed with me that it was important for UTU members to learn as soon as possible, and directly from their union, that an agreement had been struck.

UTU members not only have a right to timely knowledge of events that affect their lives, they also need and deserve reliable facts.

What they don't need is a premature preview of an unfinished document, especially if it comes from a third-party source that might lace the news with rumors, misinterpretations, half-truths, and perhaps even deliberate disinformation.

Our UTU Constitution tells us this is an unfinished document. As such, it would be inappropriate, irresponsible, and a disservice to UTU members to promote or publish the agreement's contents until the provisions of Article 91 have been carried out.

We have already met with the general chairpersons whose committees are affected by the agreement, and they have submitted questions, as prescribed by Article 91. After the UTU Negotiating Team meets with the railroads' negotiators and establishes answers that will apply to the contract, we will have solid, reliable information, and a finished document, to distribute to UTU members for ratification.

That time is drawing near. But until then, I can only assure you the contract will be well worth the wait.

Charles L. Little
UTU International President
14600 Detroit Avenue
Cleveland, OH 44107-4250
Voice: (216) 228-9400
Fax: (216) 228-5755
E-Mail: C_Little@utu.org

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