Machinists Mobilize for Rail Negotiations

IAM members can click here(link located on links page) to send a message to their Senators and Representative urging them to contact the three-member National Mediation Board and demand they advance the negotiations process to the next step.

“Congress created the NMB to facilitate contract negotiations and avoid service disruptions,” said GVP Robert Roach, Jr. “However, the NMB has failed to act on repeated requests to advance the bargaining process and, as a result, has become an obstacle to reaching an agreement.”

The rail carriers are proposing terms similar to an arbitrated agreement they have with another union. That agreement, already rejected by 97 percent of the Machinists' membership, provides no general wage increase for 2000, and the wage increases for 2001 and 2002 were used to pay for the health & welfare plan.

“The conduct of the National Mediation Board extends beyond the current negotiations and will become standard practice if we do not take immediate action to protect our right to collectively bargain under the Railway Labor Act,” said GVP Roach.