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Freight Railroads Withdraw Mediation Requests

Negotiations to Resume with Rail Union Coalition
WASHINGTON – May 10, 2005 -- The National Carriers’ Conference Committee (NCCC) today announced that it had voluntarily withdrawn its applications for mediation with seven unions that comprise the Teamsters-led rail labor coalition, opening the way for negotiations to resume next week.

The NCCC, the bargaining agent for the nation’s freight railroads, had filed the applications with the National Mediation Board in March after the seven unions belonging to the Rail Labor Bargaining Coalition (RLBC) refused to bargain pending agreement on various procedural issues.

“We’re pleased that we have resolved these procedural issues and that we can now begin substantive negotiations with the unions,” Robert F. Allen, chairman of the NCCC, said. “That is in keeping with our goal, which from the beginning has been to engage in bargaining that leads to mutually beneficial agreements on work rule reforms and other issues important to the continuing success of the railroad industry."

Negotiations with the RLBC are scheduled to resume May 18-20 in Washington.

The National Carriers’ Conference Committee of the National Railway Labor Conference, headquartered in Washington, DC, is the national bargaining agent for 32 railroads, including all of the nation’s major freight carriers, involved in the current round of bargaining with 13 major rail unions.

Ken Gradia
National Railway Labor Conference
(202) 862-7218