National Agreement Ratification Update May 11, 2018
Sisters and Brothers,
Please find attached an update pertaining to the Railroad National Agreement Ratification. The update includes a breakdown of the ratification vote and participation, and also answers some questions that we have recently received from our officers and members. Please share this update with your members by emailing it to them, posting it on your bulletin boards, or simply passing it out, as I’m certain it will go a long way in answering many of their questions.
This update will be posted on the IBEW webpage on Monday morning. f you have any additional questions, please don’t hesitate to contact me. Enjoy your weekends.
Fraternally,
Bill Bohne, Jr.
Director - IBEW Railroad Department
202-728-6016
Text of the attached PDF is below. If you wish to download the PDF you can here.
Dear Sisters and Brothers, This is a follow-up to our May 8, 2018 email advising you that the Railroad National Agreement has been ratified. As I informed you then, the ratification passed by a vote of 1,929 in favor and 1,560 against – a margin of 369 votes. The vote breakdown is as follows: 5,776 ratification packets mailed out, 3,489 ballots returned timely and counted, and 32 ballots returned that could not be counted because of unidentifiable senders and duplicate senders. Also, 172 packets were returned to us due to incorrect addresses, of which 36 members requested replacement packets. This was just over a 60% voter participation – one of our highest ever. Thanks so much to those of you who took the time to vote! Since the ratification was announced, some questions have arisen that I will now address. Q - When will the agreement go into effect? A – The agreement will go into effect immediately. Q – When will the pay raises be effective? A – The pay increases will be effective on the dates found in the agreement: January 1, 2015 (which you are already getting), July 1, 2016, July 1, 2017, July 1, 2018, and July 1, 2019. Q - When will the new rate appear on my time card? A – Each railroad may handle this differently, and we are now reaching out to them to find out what dates each will be using. Once we find out we will notify you. You will receive retroactive pay up until the date the new rate appears on your timecard. Q – When will we receive our retroactive pay? A – As per the agreement, you should receive your retroactive pay within 60 days of the signing of the agreement. Q – When will the arbitration for the H & W “True-up” take place and if the railroads win the arbitration, when will they get their money? A – We will attempt to hold the arbitration within the next 45 days. If the railroads win the arbitration, we will try to arrange it so that the “true-up” money comes out of your retroactive paychecks. Please note, if the “true-up” award in the BMWE arbitration H & W case comes out favorable to the BMWE in that they don’t have to pay a “true-up and penalty,” then we can accept that decision and avoid arbitration. Furthermore, the “true-up” will not affect any member who has “opted out” of the health care benefits. Q - When will the new insurance provisions go into effect? A – The railroads are attempting to have the changes put into effect by Monday May 21, 2018, however it will be no later than June 1, 2018. Please note, we are still working out some details with the insurance changes. Again, on behalf of IBEW President Lonnie Stephenson, I would like to personally thank all of the members who took part in the ratification process. I would also like to thank the IBEW Railroad General Chairmen and their staffs, the representatives of IBEW Railroad Department, and Railroad Department Administrative Assistant Reggie DeLauder for working diligently on the ratification process. And last but not least, I would also like to thank the Local Union representatives who took the time out of their busy schedules to come to Washington, DC to help with the ratification vote count. If you have any further questions, please don’t hesitate to contact me at Bill_Bohne@ibew.org. Fraternally and in Solidarity, Bill Bohne, Jr. Director – IBEW Railroad Department
