Rail chiefs announce formation of Coordinated Bargaining Coalition
THE INTERNATIONAL BROTHERHOOD of Boilermakers has united in solidarity with the top leaders of nine rail unions in support of coordinated national bargaining efforts that began November 1. Collectively, the unions represent more than 105,000 railroad workers.
The Coordinated Bargaining Coalition includes:
- American Train Dispatchers Association (ATDA)
- Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen / Teamsters Rail Conference (BLET)
- Brotherhood of Railroad Signalmen (BRS)
- International Association of Machinists (IAM)
- International Brotherhood of Boilermakers (IBB)
- National Conference of Firemen & Oilers/SEIU (NCFO)
- International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW)
- Transport Workers Union of America (TWU)
- Transportation Communications Union / IAM (TCU)
- Transportation Division of the International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail, and Transportation Workers (SMART–TD)
The following statement was jointly issued by ATDA President Leo McCann, BLET National President Dennis Pierce, BRS President Jerry Boles, IAM General Vice President – Transportation Sito Pantoja, IBB Director of Railroad Lodge Services John Mansker, IBEW Railroad Department Director Bill Bohne, NCFO President John Thacker, SMART–TD President Jeremy Ferguson, TWU Railroad Division Director John Feltz and TCU National President Bob Scardelletti:
“We are pleased to announce the creation of the Coordinated Bargaining Coalition as we are on the threshold of the most critical round of national bargaining in a generation. Our coalition is founded on two key values that we all share. One is that we understand the importance of each union’s autonomy to pursue membership-specific goals within a framework of broad solidarity to defend and improve the wages, benefits and working conditions of our members. The other is that we will spare no effort to defeat the attack by the railroads on the very foundation of our members’ economic security.”
