Negotiations Update
To once again explain these negotiations using the NMB’s expedited negotiation process; articles of the agreement were discussed between the carrier and the union by small groups separated into sub committees. These sub-committee discussions broke down and thoroughly reviewed each paragraph of the article they were assigned and contemplated changes proposed by either side. In many cases, changes were settled by both parties and an agreement in principal was accepted. When agreements could not be reached or the main subject material was of economic concern, the matter was tabled for the next phase of the process. Language created by each side of the sub-committees was passed back and forth until eventually a single version was created, one written by the company and one by the union.
This week, the committee began the arduous task of making sure the language written by the company exactly matched that of the union. This was also compared with the suggestions of our legal council all on a line by line basis. Any discrepancy in the language was noted and will be discussed further or moved to the next phase.
It is obviously important to ensure that the language written absolutely represents the intent of the parties. While this task is time consuming, it is a necessary step towards completing these negotiations.
Management Meetings
Negotiations offer a unique opportunity that places management who has the ability to make decisions in the same location as many of our union representatives who on behalf of the membership hold questions and grievances. During this past week there were several side discussions held between union representatives and members of management on a variety of subjects to settle some differences in the application of the current contracts. We are pleased with the carrier’s willingness to settle our differences before issue are escalated. We will continue to take advantage of such opportunities.
