Rail Reform Group Wins Victories in Quest for Cross-Union Unity, Democracy

[Omaha Steve]

http://labornotes.org/archives/2006/09/articles/b.shtml

Rail Reform Group Wins Victories in Quest for Cross-Union Unity, Democracy

by Ron Kaminkow September 2006

Since its founding in the spring of 2005, the rank-and-file reform group Railroad Operating Crafts United (ROCU) has been plugging away at organizing around the twin themes of rail labor unity and internal union democracy.

After a year of hard member-by-member organizing, ROCU, whose members come from the United Transportation Union (UTU) and the Teamster-affiliated Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers (BLET), has some reasons to celebrate.

First, back in February, leaders of UTU and BLET called for a truce in the long-running war that has wracked the two unions for years. UTU President Paul Thompson and BLET President Don Hahs issued a joint statement of unity, agreed to put a halt to their respective raiding activities, and called for a united front against rail carriers’ proposals for massive givebacks in the current round of bargaining.

ONE MEMBER, ONE VOTE

More recently, the rank and file of the BLET voted in mid-June nearly 2-to-1 in a union-wide referendum to amend the BLET constitution and allow for a one-member-one-vote mail ballot method of electing top union officials. ROCU quickly threw its full support behind the campaign, which was initiated by BLET Division 316 in Atlanta, upon learning of it last fall.

After failing to achieve their goal through the BLET convention, last year the division began working through another channel in order to achieve direct elections: a member initiative.

The BLET constitution, unlike many unions’, provides the members the right to an initiative. When 25 percent of the members sign a petition, the national office is obliged to send a mail ballot to all the members in good standing for a vote on the question.

By March 2006, with the support of ROCU and BLET activists around the country, Division 316 had gained the support of divisions representing just over the required 25 percent. When the ballots were counted in June the results were clearly in favor of building a more democratic union.

“It’s an exciting and unique opportunity to become more actively involved in determining the direction of the union,” said Ed Michael, president of BLET Division 724 and a founding member of ROCU.

FULL story at link above.

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