Miami 99
a little man
You ever notice how in the last four (4) years the Carrier’s have become increasingly indifferent to our Agreements? You ever notice how long it takes for time claims to be paid? You ever notice the decline in contract compliance on the part of the crew dispatchers? You ever notice the increase in payroll problems? You ever notice how hard it is to lay-off, even though the Agreement gives you that right?
What is wrong? There is a signed agreement, and the railroads don’t comply with it. What would happen to you if you failed to make a car payment based on a signed loan agreement? Would you get to keep the car? What if you failed to make your house payment? Would you be living in your house very long?
It all goes back to credibility and the ability of an individual to be bound by the terms and conditions of agreements, both written and verbal.
Our current International President, said "It’s the law", and supposedly he wanted each of you to believe that the "law" and the responsibility that goes along with it, means a great deal to him. Does it? Or have we become under this administration no different than the rail carriers who will go to any lengths to avoid their responsibilities under our agreements?
In January of 1998, our current International President made what he considered to be a bold and innovative move to do away with our crafts and petition the National Mediation Board (NMB) for a representation election on the Union Pacific for a "new craft or class of service of train and engine service employees". Did this violate our Constitution? You betcha Red Ryder.
But wait, when the rail carriers violate our agreements, don’t you always hear that "our interpretation is that your claim is not valid"? Do the rail carriers use words like intent and interpretation to deprive us of rights and things of value in terms of pay?
Our Current International felt that he had not violated our Constitution, since he interprets it, and it was his interpretation that the way it was written and had been applied for at least the previous twenty nine (29) years didn’t apply. Strange, but the Constitution is a condition of your membership, just like your agreement is a condition of your employment.
You ever notice how the mystical body on the rail carriers known as labor relations invariably agrees with the erroneous position of the flunky railroad officer who decided to deny your claims and violate your agreement in the first place? Frustrating, you betcha Red Ryder.
Well, our International President had his trusted team on the mystical Board of Directors, except one, agree that his new interpretation was right. It was kind of a rubber stamp proposition like the rail carriers when they say "claim not supported by agreement". You will find a little one liner in the minutes of the Board of Directors meeting saying, not unanimous concurrence with the position of the International President, but more like "position of International President upheld".
At the 1991 UTU International Convention, the newly elected President, with unanimous concurrence of the delegates got us back on board with the AFL-CIO. Did this have responsibilities associated with it? Sure, we agreed to be bound by the rules and regulations of the AFL-CIO.
Upon becoming aware of the intentions of the International President with regard to the NMB petition, the adversely affected party, the BLE, who is also part of the AFL-CIO petitioned the AFL-CIO claiming that the actions of UTU were nothing more than a raiding of membership. The AFL-CIO did an investigation and came to the conclusion that the BLE was probably right.
So the AFL-CIO then crafted a process for the UTU and BLE to resolve their differences in a "bloodless manner", and both parties agreed, and signed a written agreement. As part of the written agreement, to which our International President was party, it was agreed that by May 1, 1999 the "dues structure" of the new union would be established. Real simple, what are the costs of the new organization, how many members, how much money does each member pay in dues. Not a matter for rocket scientists, simple accounting principle, you have a six pack of beer and three guys drinking, each one gets two beers.
But as the deadline got close for the "dues structure", our International President decided he didn’t want to comply with the agreement, and asked his General Counsel to get an extension or postponement. Why? The BLE was asking questions about the monies he, and his team, had improperly, if not illegally taken from the Job Benefit Fund. And there was another reason, how could he go before the delegates in August and tell them the good job he did in forming the new union, but, you’re dues are going to go up five to ten dollars a month. There was no interpretation necessary, our International President just decided, that for personal political purposes, the UTU would not comply.
If your agreement says that you will be paid on the first and fifteenth of each month, and the rail carrier tells you that he wants to delay you checks for four months so the CEO can show bigger profits at the shareholders meeting, does that fly? Do you really care? No, the rail carrier signed an agreement, and you are entitled to have the terms and conditions of the agreement honored.
So basically the BLE told the UTU to take a hike, but in the meantime the AFL-CIO had ruled that what our International President was doing was raiding, the UTU had appealed the decision and lost. We were bound by that decision, or were we.
Not our International President, did he feel he was bound by our affiliation with the AFL-CIO, of course not, it was back to the NMB for the war of wars. The spoils to the victor in a winner take all Texas death match ala the WWF. But this is no fake wrestling, it’s the real McCoy. And it won’t be Diamond Dallas Little versus Rowdy Roddy Monin, it will dues paying brother against dues paying brother.
But will there really be a winner, no, just losers. We will lose our current crafts and our BLE brothers will lose their craft. However, we must look to the bright side, our International President told us we deserve a vote, and you will get a vote, electric chair or gas chamber, but you were never guilty in the first place!
Honor, integrity and responsibility are key parts of effective negotiations, you don’t buy them, you don’t steal them, and once you lose them, you will probably never get them back. Our International President gave them up, for his political agenda, and we now stand alone and despised by not only rail labor, but also all of organized labor.
We expect the rail carriers to lack integrity in their dealings with us, why not, they pay us for the right to do it. We shouldn’t expect the same from our International President, we elected him to uphold our Constitution and make us strong and powerful in the rail industry, and we each pay him and his team $15.50 per month to live up to our expectations.
Our International President does not care about the law or signed agreements, he marches to his own "little" drum beat. But look at the bright side, he is the only one who knows what is right, the other 13,000,000 strong in organized labor only know him for what he is, little.
Darth Vader Little
"May the Farce be with you"
TRUST ME!