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National Agreement ratified August 30, 2005

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September 6, 2005

After five and a half years of negotiations nearly 7,800 IAM members employed at Class 1 Railroads of the National Carriers’ Conference Committee ratified an agreement on August 30, 2005.

The current contract went up for renewal in January of 2000.  In 2001 an agreement was reached, but when it came time to sign the contract, the company did an about face and reneged.

Workers continued to work and contract talks continued – without the National Mediation Board ever granting the permission to move forward to strike.

Members will receive retroactive general wage increases of 4 percent effective July 1, 2002, 2.5 percent effective July 1, 2003, 3 percent effective July 1, 2004 and 2.5 percent effective July 1, 2005, with no retroactive contributions to medical insurance.

The NCCC will have sixty days from the day of signing the contract to pay all retroactive wages. 

The contract was signed on September 1, 2005.

Watch Video: Rail Machinists Ratify Contract >>

September 1, 2005

Dear Sisters and Brothers:

In our continuing effort to keep you informed of the progress on the National Rail Agreement, I would like to take this opportunity to update you on a couple of items.

The formal signing of the Agreement between the carriers and the IAMAW has begun its process and should be completed within a few days.  Additionally, the Agreement does have an effective date of September 1, 2005, for implementation purposes.

We have received several phone calls requesting information on when the retroactive (back-pay) will be paid; therefore, I would like to call your attention to Side Letter #1, which states in pertinent part:  "The Carriers will make all reasonable efforts to pay the retroactive portion of such general wages increases as soon as possible and no later than sixty (60) days after the date of this Agreement", which is September 1, 2005.

Sincerely and fraternally yours,

s/ Joe R. Duncan
President Directing General Chairman

August 30, 2005

Re: National Agreement Ratification Vote

Dear Sisters and Brothers:

Please be advised that the tentative National Railroad Agreement has been ratified by the IAMAW membership. After all the votes were tabulated the final count was as follows:

                                            Total Ballots Cast                                             4772

                                            Total Votes to Accept Agreement                     3096

                                            Total Votes to Reject Agreement                      1650

                                            Total Ballots Deemed Invalid                                26

In an effort to keep the membership up to date with as much information as possible, we have prepared a spread-sheet shown below which will give each member a clear view of the vote returns.

I want to take this opportunity to thank each and every member who participated in the voting process, regardless if your vote was to accept or reject the Agreement.

It has taken us a long time to get to this point, however, through working together and standing strong we were finally successful. Further, we may have been the last Craft in finalizing an Agreement, but we should all be proud that our Organization obtained and ratified an Agreement without any assistance from the National Meditation Board.

Again, I want thank you for your patience and support through this entire process. Further, I want to thank the entire staff of District Lodge 19 and General Vice President Robert Roach, Jr. and his staff for all their assistance in bringing this round of negotiations to a conclusion.

Sincerely and fraternally yours, 
s/Joe R. Duncan
Pres. Dir. Gen. Chairman

National Contract Vote Results By Local Lodge

Local Lodge Vote to Vote to   Local Lodge Vote to Vote to   Local Lodge Vote to Vote to
Reporting Accept Reject   Reporting Accept Reject   Reporting Accept Reject
1 0 2   331 32 1   791 84 47
7 7 16   356 42 206   810 10 3
14 12 7   376 20 6   1041 10 0
17 11 0   378 72 25   1071 5 2
27 50 18   392 7 4   1073 65 31
36 22 0   430 56 16   1145 12 68
51 12 3   457 15 2   1209 27 82
104 38 43   478 86 31   1210 18 0
112 27 49   486 16 8   1255 19 0
165 59 27   492 42 6   1333 100 10
180 153 84   498 40 21   1338 114 11
194 7 0   509 51 25   1343 39 7
197 50 2   511 19 20   1347 40 8
212 59 43   584 23 0   1352 11 1
213 57 6   591 28 20   1443 9 1
249 23 7   602 53 114   1450 46 34
257 12 13   612 93 30   1479 31 2
263 54 9   620 160 35   1497 19 11
266 7 1   625 62 51   1639 168 56
308 29 7   637 11 2   1676 33 32
318 7 1   643 17 4