UTU and National Carriers' Tentative agreement.

Doesnt matter how you vote, pretty sure its a done deal anyway....isnt that how it usually works?

MistahQ wrote:Doesnt matter how you vote, pretty sure its a done deal anyway....isnt that how it usually works?

Yea... sure... thats the answer... pretend you have no influence at all. Dont go to the union meetings, just complain about the union and how corrupt they are.

In a few minutes the voting should close. I predict that the agreement will pass and we'll get on with whatever is in store for us. We'll continue to put up with UTU's decision to grap those dreaded remotes and we will move on to whatever the rail companies have in our future. We may not have a job during the next phase of agreement talks....

xponder, i hope that doesn't come true...probably will, hell...most likely will...but it doesn't hurt to have a little hope now and then

well, it passed, and with an overwhelming majority i might add. what really pi$$es me off is the numbers. over 45,000 ballots mailed out and only 18,000 votes cast. i don't know whether i should be more pi$$ed with the union for forcing this crap down our throats or at our own guys for not even casting a vote. i understand that a 17% wage increase is a big deal but it's the principle of the matter to me. we take the first bone they throw this time and what will we get next time? if this goes down a bad road for the conductor/brakeman/switchman craft then we have no one to blame but ourselves.

Only forty percent of those eligible to vote did so. Indifference, I believe, had played a large factor for a majority of non-voters. Certainly there was opportunity to vote in an easy to access venue. However, even if the number of those voting had approached ninety percent I don't believe the outcome would have been different. But, I believe that the numbers would have been closer to a fifty-fifty split for/against. We certainly won't know what the outcome would have been if the remaining sixty percent would have cast their ballot.

Don't spend that raise and backpay all at once, you'll need it later to supplement your unemployment benefit....

18,076 votes were cast, with 15,313 in favor and 2763 against the agreement.

CRAFT Yes No

Conductors 8,704 1,447

Yardmen 3,402 684

Brakemen 1,211 183

Engineers 1,040 228

Firemen/Hostlers 326 77

Yardmasters 630 144


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Lmcgolf wrote:well, it passed, and with an overwhelming majority i might add. what really pi$$es me off is the numbers. over 45,000 ballots mailed out and only 18,000 votes cast. i don't know whether i should be more pi$$ed with the union for forcing this crap down our throats or at our own guys for not even casting a vote. i understand that a 17% wage increase is a big deal but it's the principle of the matter to me. we take the first bone they throw this time and what will we get next time? if this goes down a bad road for the conductor/brakeman/switchman craft then we have no one to blame but ourselves.

I'm very glad it passed with such a majority. We didnt take the first bone that was thrown to us. We were offered the same pattern contract and we even managed some improvements. Rejecting this would send us to a PEB or even worse congress. The way the economy is it would be hard to find anybody to support us after rejecting a 17% raise. Going that far may have even put crew consist back on the table.

What else exactly did you want? Elimination of step rates? I want that too, but I understand how much money that is and realize that the carriers are not going to give that up if they dont have to. Now we have to convince the neutral of the mediation board that we deserve 100%. Why do you think we need a better contract than the other crafts on property?

In my mind it comes down to this: I knew about the step rates when I hired out. I still took the job anyway. They lied to me about many things, but not that. They were very clear about the step rates in the hiring session. I'm sure it was the same way for you.

What will we get next time? Well in their next section 6 notice they will demand elimination of the conductor on road jobs as they did last time. Remember that? Our union saved our jobs by fighting them and getting that demand removed. The carriers also wanted to eliminate FELA. Remember that? Our unions saved FELA. Dont sit there and act like the union is just taking the handouts that the carrier is throwing.