The System Committee met with the company and a federal mediator today. We gave the company a list of the issues the membership has with their current offer.
The majority of the day was spent working on M-19 (Grievance Process). There were no agreements made today but some progress was made.
Tomorrow we plan on discussing M8, M11, M12, M14 and M17. All of these Company proposals have a major impact to the Line Department.
The parties have tentatively set January 14th and 16th and possibly the 19th and 20th for meeting dates. I am hopeful that we can get through the issues in such a short amount of time. The System Committee continues to maintain that we are available to meet as often as needed to negotiate a fair contract.
In closing, I want to say "THANK YOU" to our Brothers and Sisters in the Plants. Thanks for standing side by side with your Brothers and Sisters in the Line Department. We are only successful when ALL of us stand together in solidarity.
