CLEVELAND, May 9 — Members of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET) have unanimously ratified a new collective bargaining agreement with the Great Western Railway of Colorado (GWR).
The three-year agreement runs through February 15, 2015, and includes a lump sum allowance that is retroactive to July 1, 2008. The agreement provides members with a two percent general wage increase each year through 2014. In addition, the BLET secured numerous work rule improvements.
The negotiating team consisted of National Vice President Mike Priester, BNSF (former ATSF) General Chairman Alan Holdcraft, and Division 256 Local Chairman Robert Bichon.
Maintaining their health and welfare plan was a priority for the BLET members working at the short line railroad based in Loveland, Colo. Brother Holdcraft said: “The problems associated with these negotiations were not new. Management was adamant in their need to cancel the current health and welfare plan and replace it with a High Deductible Health Plan that would have significantly increased costs for our members. The current health and welfare plan is among the best in the industry and is far superior to most short line employees’ plans. This was not a road we were willing to travel.”
After four years of negotiations, and with the assistance of Mediator Jack Kane, the BLET was able to reach a tentative agreement that preserved the current health and welfare plan. It was ratified by a 15-0 vote of the GWR membership.
Employees at GWR first voted to join the Brotherhood in October of 2003, and they ratified their first Union contract on November 1, 2004. The new agreement outlines an important scope rule and contains other provisions that govern: seniority, bidding and the assigning of positions; grievance and arbitration procedures; hearings and discipline; holidays; paid time off; and numerous work rule improvements. “These are changes that our members both wanted and needed,” Brother Holdcraft said.
“I was assisted by Vice President Mike Priester, whose skill and guidance were invaluable,” Holdcraft said. “GWR Local Chairman Robert Bichon also assisted in the negotiating sessions and offered valuable insight into the day-to-day workings of this railroad.”
There are currently 15 hardworking GWR employees who belong to BLET Division 256. The GWR is headquartered in Loveland Colo. BLET crews operate over 80 miles of track and interchange with BNSF at Fort Collins, Longmont and Loveland, Colo. They interchange with UP at Fort Collins, Kelim and Milliken, Colo. Currently, GWR””s customers include Anheuser-Busch, Vestas, Front Range Ethanol, Eastman Kodak, Owens-Illinois, AllWeather Wood, Universal Forest Products, Amalgamated Sugar, and Wedron Silica.