PIGEON FORGE, Tenn. — A united Rail Conference under the umbrella of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT), which will negotiate stronger contracts for all rail workers, is the ultimate goal of the BLE’s proposed merger with the IBT.
IBT Secretary-Treasurer C. Thomas Keegel and IBT General Counsel Pat Syzmanski explained this long-term vision of the BLE and IBT as they participated in a question and answer session by telephone with BLE members at the 76th annual Southeastern Meeting Association (SMA) in Pigeon Forge, Tenn., on June 17.
BLE would be the first rail union under the IBT Rail Conference, and others may follow, Keegel said. Already, other AFL-CIO affiliated rail unions have contacted the IBT regarding a possible merger if the proposed BLE merger is ratified.
“This is a long-term strategy to rebuild the coordination of all rail unions — to make them stronger collectively than they are individually,” Brother Keegel said. “Negotiations in the rail industry have been that the carriers find the weakest operating union to strike a deal with first, and then that agreement is imposed as a pattern agreement on the rest of rail labor. With the collective strength of a united Rail Conference and the backing of the IBT, you can break that pattern and get the kind of contracts you deserve. The railroads are making a helluva lot of money and they need to share it.”
Keegel also commended BLE leaders for having “the foresight and guts to stand up and do what’s right for the membership.”
Keegel spoke following a presentation by IBT General Counsel Syzmanski. Syzmanski’s presentation described the IBT’s structure and the eight different departments at the IBT’s international level. Those departments include organizing, strategic campaigns, government affairs, communications, education, research, safety & health, and legal.
He said all these departments work together to serve the membership as they work to obtain the best contracts possible.
If BLE members vote to merge with the IBT, “you will be entitled to have each and every department work for you to get the wages and benefits you deserve,” Brother Keegel said.