Replies

• Historically in negotiations governed by the railway labor act a strike vote is taken at the same time as a contract ratification vote. In other words, the membership votes A) YES or NO on the contract and B) YES or NO on a strike. If the contract passes, naturally it's a moot point as to the strike vote. If the contract fails, then as Mr. Holland says the mediator can decide whether more talks would be fruitful or we both parties are at an impasse and then can be released at which the cooling off period begins. Which way a mediator will lean is hard to guess and depends on a lot of factors. There are a lot of things that have to happen before a strike takes place and both parties generally work extremely hard to prevent that from happening.
  November 5, 2022

• Concerns about secrecy are of course understandable and we take them seriously. The issue is that if the union showed the notes to our members, they would now be available for anyone to see. In other words, the company could see them. Those notes during negotiations are extremely sensitive. Union negotiators are brainstorming and strategizing on these notes, and they are working documents. There is virtually no reason we would ever let the company see them. So that leads of course to the question, well maybe we just release to the membership in some private way. But all it takes is one union member to intentionally or accidentally release that info to the wrong person and now the company has it. I know that probably does not satisfy your concerns, but negotiations notes are extremely sensitive and in arbitration cases they can be the difference between winning or losing. We can never risk that info going public.
  November 2, 2022

• Thank you Brother Jim.
  November 1, 2022