WASHINGTON — According to a wire service, the Teamsters Union and the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers said on Wednesday they were considering a merger that would create “a seamless transportation union” of rail-trucking industry workers and give the BLE increased bargaining muscle.
The BLE, the country’s oldest labor union, said its governing body took a step toward merging or affiliating with the Teamsters Union by authorizing its top three leaders to explore the possibilities of a combination.
“There is still a long way to go, but this is a first step in the right direction,” said BLE President Don Hahs.
A merger would help the BLE, whose 38,000 active members in the railroad industry are mostly locomotive engineers, gain more influence in bargaining and in lobbying by connecting with the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, whose 1.4 million members include long-haul truckers, union officials said.
“Our two unions serve a common purpose of transporting goods from manufacturers to consumers,” said Teamsters Union President James Hoffa. “By joining together, we will create a seamless transportation union.”
BLE spokesman John Bentley said he could not predict how long it would take before a merger proposal could be put before his union’s members for ratification.
In December, BLE members rejected a proposed merger with the United Transportation Union, a railroad workers union that the BLE had feuded with over jurisdictional issues for several years before their leaders sought to combine their resources.
Founded in 1863, the BLE represents conductors, trainmen and dispatchers as well as engineers. Besides drivers and other trucking industry workers, the Teamsters Union represents a variety of light industry manufacturing and airline industry workers.