To All IBEW Railroad Local Unions With Members Covered Under Railroad National Negotiations

Dear Sisters and Brothers, This is to update you on the mediation session held on Tuesday March 20th. As I advised you earlier, my WIFI was down yesterday, so I had limited access to my emails, therefore the delay in getting this out to you. We met Tuesday in mediation with the National Mediation Board (NMB) and the railroads. We first met with the NMB privately, with all three Board members and our mediator being present, and explained to them our position. We advised them as to how frustrating it is to us and our members to be in the position we are in. We went over the profits the railroads are making, the many things they are doing in the workplace to demoralize our members, including but not limited to offering signing bonuses to new-hires and to present employees for transferring to certain locations, altering long-standing workplace practices, and ramping up discipline of employees. We then went on to tell them what we have heard from you about why the agreement didn’t pass – insufficient wage increases, the shifting of more health and welfare costs onto the backs of our members, and the lack of changes to vacations and sick days, and then advised them that we would like to see the aforementioned areas improved on. While they seemed to be listening intently, they really didn’t express much sympathy to our arguments. They then advised us as to what they saw happening in the future if we couldn’t reach agreement with the carriers. They briefly discussed the possibility of binding arbitration, and also moving the dispute forward to a Presidential Emergency Board. As to going to a PEB, they explained that, due to the Congressional schedule upon which they time releasing us from mediation for a PEB (they will not release us if any of the time periods for which we may exercise self-help fall during a period when Congress is in recess), that such a release may not come until the end of the year, if not later. When they were done speaking with us, they then went to meet with the Carriers. Following a lunch break, we met with the Carriers without the NMB present. After explaining our position to them again, they advised us that they were not willing to offer us anything more than they have already given to the 90% of the agreement employees they have already reached agreements with, including the BMWE/SMART-SMW coalition. At this time your negotiating committee is discussing what options we now have, and how to move forward. Please rest assured that whatever we do decide, it will always be with the best interests of our members at heart. We will be in contact with you once we decide how we plan to proceed. Please feel free to contact us with any questions. Fraternally & in Solidarity, Bill Bohné, Jr. Director - IBEW Railroad Department 202-728-6016