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INDEPENDENCE, Ohio, November 17 — The following is a statement from Brother Cliff Horton, a member of BLET Division 212 (Sweetwater, TX), in support of the Tentative National Agreement.

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Brothers and Sisters:

I would like to take a moment to touch on a few obvious victories in the proposed agreement from my perspective.

1. No changes to work rules. I personally believe we should continue to be compensated when we are told to pick up a train in the 25-mile zone or run through terminal. As the carrier would have it, I am sure we would do that among many other things for just a basic trip rate.

2. Guaranteed extra boards. Let’s be honest who would want to lose those things.

3. Back pay and pay raises. Back pay of 2% per year and a 4% immediate wage increase, for a total of 13.14% compounded for this contract is adequate considering the times. How is that a bad deal?

4. Look at what didn””””t change to understand the real value of this agreement.

5. The BLET and the SMART TD Unions worked together to the end; that alone should speak volumes of what the future holds.

This agreement should be considered a home run if we can focus on facts and not rumors or lies. It truly shows the power in numbers and the true benefit of collective bargaining as a whole.

Fraternally,

Cliff Horton
Locomotive Engineer
UPRR – 6 Year Employee
BLET Division 212
Sweetwater, TX