CLEVELAND, December 19 — The Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen’s highest-ranking body between conventions has recommended ratification of the tentative national agreement that currently is being voted on by nearly 21,000 BLET members.
In a December 15 open letter to all BLET members participating in the tentative national agreement ratification vote, the Brotherhood’s Advisory Board urged members to vote “Yes” on the package before the 3:00 p.m. EST January 5, 2012 deadline.
The Board noted that the proposal includes an additional 1.6% in general wage increases over and above the first national agreement reached in the bargaining round, and phases in the increased health and welfare co-pays over an 18-month period, rather than instituting all of them immediately.
They also pointed out that the BLET’s National Wage Committee, led by National President Dennis R. Pierce, had secured a Flexible Spending Account benefit to help offset any possible increased costs associated with the health and welfare co-pays, as well as a clarification to PEB 243’s ambiguous recommendation that a 1% signing bonus only be paid on an employee’s “straight time” earnings.
The Board said that the membership has a “clear choice” between these enhancements and Congressional imposition of the bare PEB recommendations in legislation that has already been drafted, and urged that members make their decision based on logic rather than emotion.
A copy of the Advisory Board’s letter can be downloaded here (PDF).