CLEVELAND, April 21 — BLET members still have the chance to participate in the online survey the National Division is conducting to prepare for the upcoming round of national contract negotiations.
Two-thousand members were randomly selected to participate in a written survey, and that deadline was April 15. However, members have just over a week to participate in an identical online survey, which seeks their input on a variety of issues related to the national contract.
Labor contracts or collective bargaining agreements do not expire under the Railway Labor Act, but become amendable at the end of their term. The current BLET National Contract was ratified in June of 2007, and the wage increases were retroactive to July 1, 2005. Part of the 2007 National Agreement was a standard moratorium clause under which the parties agreed not to seek any changes for a defined period of time. The National Agreement becomes amendable on January 1, 2010, and the parties agreed in 2007 that notices can be served 60 days before the Agreement becomes amendable.
The 2,000 members chosen for the random survey are not eligible to participate in the online survey.
The survey is located on the BLET website at:
https://www.ble-t.org/survey
Access to the online survey is password protected. Those interested in participating can use the same password they normally use to enter the Members’ Area of the BLET website. A registration area for those who do not have a password is provided at the link above. Those who don’t have a password must register using their seven-digit membership identification number (found on the mailing label of the monthly Newsletter) or their Social Security Number and their date of birth.
“I thank those who completed the written survey, which will help to shape our bargaining goals for the upcoming round,” BLET National President Ed Rodzwicz said. “Also, thanks in advance to those who will participate in the online survey in the coming days.”