UTU INTERNATIONAL LEADERSHIP AT IT AGAIN

CLEVELAND, July 9 -- The United Transportation Union is at it again, seeking another backdoor attempt to raid membership of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen. Right now, the UTU is looking for someone to sponsor legislation in the U.S. House of Representatives that would force the BLET into an all-out war on the nation’s railroads. The proposed bill would allow the National Mediation Board to conduct an election of all locomotive engineers, conductors and trainmen who work for Class 1 railroads. Based on this election, the NMB would certify a single union to represent all the workers. According to the proposed legislation, the single surviving union would be the union with the most members at the time the election. Currently, the UTU has slightly more members than the BLET. The bill does not have a sponsor and has not been assigned a bill number. However, BLET lobbyists in Washington, D.C. are still working to make sure it stays that way. This backdoor attempt is similar to the “Bosnian Amendment” the UTU attempted to pass in 1997 and the single operating craft idea first introduced in 1998. “The UTU is at it again,” said BLET National President Don Hahs, “trying to take by force what it cannot have any other way. When given the opportunity to voluntarily merge with the UTU in 2001, our membership overwhelmingly voted no. Apparently, some people just can’t take ‘no’ for an answer.”
A copy of the UTU proposal is at:
http://www.ble-t.org/pr/pdf/hrnmb.pdf
bentley@ble.org