Dear Sisters and Brothers:
The Union and Company last met on November 8 & 9 virtually with your full committee in attendance. At those meetings additional counterproposals were received from the company covering Articles 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 11, 14, 18, 19 & 25. Article 2 was tentatively agreed to in its entirety at that session. With a comprehensive economic response from the Company having now been received, the divide between our respective positions is considerably large at this point.
After listening to a remark from the company centered around “being in the same universe” with respect to economics, it led your committee to discuss and clearly define what the factual pre-negotiation universe was as it had existed for a few years leading up to these negotiations. This also is what has led to a delay in releasing a communication following the last meeting. With the concurrence of your negotiating committee, I entered into a discussion with the company to cut through the BS and let them know what the expectation was, at a minimum, from this Union negotiating committee. I have called these “supposal discussions” over the last 15 years and they are very beneficial in communication intentions. Your committee will have copies of what the “universe assessment” showed and which was the basis of my discussions with the company. After some time, the company responded that they were not interested in the figures that had been shown to them and that they believe they have a new “market rate” which is a direct reference to the Piedmont tentative agreement that was recently ratified by its membership.
After those discussions, it made a “next step in negotiations” easier to discuss as there was now an even clearer position to analyze. After consulting with the District Lodge and Air Transport Territory leadership, it is very clear that to further engage in direct negotiations is only delaying the inevitable which is a filing for mediation under the auspices of the National Mediation Board (NMB). As of the posting of this bulletin, the application for mediation has been approved by the International President and submitted to the NMB. Once docketed by the Board, mediators will be assigned, and future meeting dates will be set. Until then, as is always the requirement of the Railway Labor Act, the status quo remains in place until something is agreed to and ratified by the membership.
If you have any questions about the contents of this bulletin, please reach out to your negotiating committee member or your General Chair, James M. Samuel, at or (859) 653-4037, for additional help or information. Thank you for your patience and commitment. With best wishes we remain
Sincerely and fraternally,
John M. Coveny, Jr.
President-Directing General Chair
James M. Samuel
General Chair
