WASHINGTON, D.C. — Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers President Don Hahs March 6 told the Bureau of National Affairs (BNA) Daily Labor Report that he is hopeful that progress can be made quickly on the national freight rail talks, as the union has just returned to the bargaining table with the employer committee.
In an interview in the union’s Washington, D.C., office, Hahs also discussed BLE’s recently announced exploratory talks with the International Brotherhood of Teamsters. Within the next four to six months, the question of merging or affiliating with the IBT could be put to a vote of BLE members, he said.
After a hiatus in bargaining that began last summer–mainly because of BLE’s failed unification effort with the United Transportation Union — BLE’s negotiating team resumed bargaining Feb. 27 with the National Carriers’ Conference Committee. BLE is one of a dozen unions currently in different stages of bargaining a new national freight rail agreement to replace one that became amendable Jan. 1, 2000. The conference represents the largest U.S. freight rail companies, with a total of about 155,000 employees covered by the national contract.
Hahs, who was elected president at the union’s convention last September, said he has told the employer committee that BLE wants to try to make up for time lost at the bargaining table. “We were waiting to see if membership would embrace the merger (with UTU), and we were going to sit down and finish up” the national talks together, he said. But BLE members overwhelmingly rejected the unification last December after UTU members had approved it.
UTU also returned to the national talks last month after a break related to the proposed BLE merger. UTU represents the largest number of employees covered by the freight agreement — about 43,000 — while BLE represents about 30,000.
Health care costs remain a major issue for BLE in the contract negotiations, Hahs said. Double-digit annual increases in health costs that are paid mainly by the railroads are expected, the parties have said. “There are small copays now for (BLE) members. But we have to look at either user fees or contributions,” he said.
Declining to criticize the specific provisions of another union’s contract, Hahs said his union does not want the health and welfare provisions of the agreement ratified by members of the Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employes to become the industry pattern. The BMWE contract — the only one ratified so far in the national talks — includes higher contributions for certain health costs than the previous national agreement.
IBT Talks Progressing.
The BLE president also said the union is forming top-level committees and seeking legal advice about a possible merger or affiliation with the Teamsters, a plan announced Feb. 27. Hahs met again with IBT President James Hoffa March 6 to continue discussions that are likely to span the next four to six months, Hahs said.
Under BLE’s bylaws, there are timetables and procedures set down for exploring unification with other organizations. Some members interpret a new bylaw provision as setting a timetable of as short as 140 days while others say it could span six months, he said. If the talks progress, the BLE leadership could submit the question of an IBT alliance within six months, “but I hope it will be shorter than that,” he said.
Five unions, including the Teamsters, made presentations about possible mergers to the BLE advisory board during the winter meeting of the AFL-CIO’s executive council in New Orleans the week of Feb. 24. The other unions seeking to open unification talks were the Communications Workers of America, Transport Workers Union, International Brotherhood of Boilermakers and Forgers, and Amalgamated Transit Workers, according to BLE officials.
Hahs described the most positive aspects of a possible IBT merger or affiliation as “the Teamsters’ legislative strength, and their expertise in negotiating.” As the rail industry continues to shed jobs, it is important for BLE to look at alliances with larger unions, he said.
The preservation of Amtrak also is a top priority of BLE as it works with the Congress in the next few months, Hahs said. “We’re hopeful because there is a lot of opposition” to the Amtrak Reform Council’s proposal for breaking up the national passenger carrier, he said. About 1,500 Amtrak employees are represented by BLE.
For the most part, BLE will push for Amtrak funding through the Transportation Trade Department of the AFL-CIO, which represents 34 unions. In March 6 testimony before the House Transportation Subcommittee on Railroads, TTD Executive Director Ed Wytkind urged lawmakers to fund Amtrak at no less than $1.2 billion for fiscal 2003, which begins Oct. 1, as a step toward ensuring the railroad’s long-term viability.