ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Saturday, July 20, 1996 TAG: 9607220041
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: A-4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: GREG EDWARDS STAFF WRITER
Contract talks have been "encouraging" as some of the nation's largest railroads and two large rail unions, representing clerical and track-maintenance workers, seek to beat a Wednesday deadline that could bring a national rail strike or management lockout of union workers.
The Transportation Communications International Union, which represents clerical workers, and the Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employees union, which bargains for track-maintenance workers, are the only large rail unions that still have not reached agreements in the current round of contract negotiations, which began Jan. 1, 1995.
The talks with the two unions have been encouraging, said Joanna Moorhead, a spokeswoman for the National Carriers Conference Committee, which represents Norfolk Southern, six other major railroads and 28 smaller carriers. "The railroads hope to get agreements, but that's really up to the unions," she said.
The railroads and unions are considering agreements suggested by special panels established by President Clinton to help bring an end to their year-and-a-half contract disputes.
The participants are nearing the end of a 30-day cooling-off period. If the unions and railroads haven't reached agreements by 12:01 a.m. Wednesday, the unions will be free to strike or the railroads will be free to lock out workers.
Historically, national strikes don't last long, because Congress intervenes, sometimes with an imposed contract, to prevent damage to the national economy.
In a positive development last Wednesday, the railroads and three repair-shop unions - the International Association of Machinists, the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers and the Sheet Metal Workers International Association - announced they had agreed on a new contract.
Details of the shopcraft agreement were not released, pending ratification by union members. But the carriers said they have now reached agreements with 55 percent of the 145,000 rail workers covered by the current round of contract talks.
As with the clerical and track-maintenance unions, the talks between the railroads and the shopcraft unions were referred by Clinton to a special panel, known as a presidential emergency board. All three boards recommended contracts June23.
Basically, the boards' recommendations followed an earlier agreement imposed by an arbitrator on the railroads and the United Transportation International Union, which represents brakemen, conductors and certain engineers. The UTU agreement included wage increases amounting to 10.9 percent over five years and a 6.5 percent lump-sum payment.
However, the contracts recommended by the presidential emergency boards for the shopcraft, clerical and track-maintenance unions each contained certain wage improvements and adjustments beyond the UTU accord. The recommendations also called for small increases in employee contributions toward health care costs.
Besides the UTU, the railroads have so far reached agreements with the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and the Brotherhood of Railroad Signalmen. Negotiations are continuing with three small unions that represent fewer than 5,000 train dispatchers, boilermakers, blacksmiths, and stationary firemen and engineers.
LENGTH: Medium: 65 linesby CNB