Left to right, back, Arthur Flores, John Villalobos, John Banks, Antonio Sanchez, Terry Rodriguez, Keith Lake, Benito Robles, Jr. Front, Al Jimenez, Tim McCall, Sharon McCall.

IMAGE 02 - The Ramirez Family, Guadalupe, Maria, Liliana, age 12 and Bravlio, age 5.

IMAGE 03 - Mauro and Estella Daddato.

IMAGE 04 - Kody Jenkins with daughters Irene, age 9 and Sara, age 8.

IMAGE 05 - Martin V. Arambula with sons Carlos, age 9 and Bravlio, age 12.

IMAGE 06 - Tim McCall, seated, with Bill LaRue, right and Chris Silvera of the Teamsters.

IMAGE 07 - Al Gore and John Sweeney, President of the AFL-CIO. (Bill Burke/Page One Photography)

IMAGE 08 - Left side of table, front to back, Tim McCall, Joel Myron, Henry Wise, Mac Fleming. Right side, front to back, Bill LaRue, Larry Borden, Ernie Torske. (Bill Burke/Page One Photography)

BMWE members and their families from Local Lodges 134, 875, and 2418 celebrated with 8,000 union members, community activists, religious, civic and human rights leaders at a convocation and rally at the Los Angeles Convention Center on Saturday, October 9.

The convocation and rally celebrated the victories and struggles for social and economic justice in communities and the nation.

The voices of union leaders and AFL-CIO President John Sweeney resonated with those of community and religious leaders such as Reverend Jesse Jackson, Governor Gray Davis, Tipper Gore, California Speaker Antonio Villaraigos and Representatives Maxine Waters and Lucille Royal-Mallard.

"The BMWE must support and affiliate with other unions to send a resounding voice on issues impacting working families -- good jobs, health care, safe working conditions, fair wages and strong communities," said BMWE President Mac A. Fleming.

Timothy McCall, BMWE staff assistant - organizing, worked with BMWE local lodge leadership in California to encourage members to attend the convocation and rally. Said McCall, "this was definitely an honor to utilize skills I have gained as an organizer to mobilize BMWE members who had an opportunity to share the history of the BMWE and similar experiences of struggle and accomplishments."

Besides the speakers, members and their families enjoyed browsing numerous organizations' information tables around the convention hall as well as free food, children's activities, and entertainment including gospel, Tajano, Taiko and Caribbean music.

-----------Sharon McCall

The BMWE delegation to the AFL-CIO Convention was comprised of President Mac A. Fleming, Secretary-Treasurer William E. LaRue, Vice Presidents Larry Borden, Ernie Torske, and Henry Wise and Director of Strategic Planning and Research Joel Myron.

The endorsement of Vice President Al Gore for president overshadowed other significant developments at the AFL-CIO national convention in Los Angeles the week of October 11, including new policies to provide a new voice for workers in a changing economy and making government work for working families. These include a call for new rules on global trade and a plan for more judicious use of union-controlled pension plans.

Gore was endorsed by the AFL-CIO without the support of two of the nation's most powerful unions, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters and the United Automobile Workers, who abstained in protest of administration free trade policies. "Our no vote is neither a criticism of the vice president nor a sign of support for Senator Bradley," said Teamsters President James Hoffa, who voiced the only public opposition to the early endorsement. Both unions are expected to eventually endorse Gore.

The BMWE also abstained from the vote on the endorsement.

Of particular interest to BMWE members is the resolution passed by the Executive Council in support of the 2000 round of bargaining. That resolution is printed hereafter in its entirety.

AFL-CIO rail affiliates are gearing up for the next round of national collective bargaining, which is set to commence in the fall of 1999. Because of the substantial interaction between Railway Labor Act (RLA) collective bargaining and the political process, and the fact that the outcome of these negotiations will have a profound effect on the entire labor movement's mission to maintain high labor standards for all working families, the AFL-CIO pledges its full support to the rail unions in their effort to secure strong contracts for their members.

Unfortunately, past negotiations have typically resulted in stalemates, which eventually spilled into Congress and the Executive Branch. The eventuality of political involvement in rail bargaining arises out of the provisions of the RLA, which allow the National Mediation Board (NMB) to determine bargaining schedules and to hold the parties at the bargaining table well past the point where productive negotiations can occur. Although under the law the NMB's intervention is initially voluntary, the fact is that the NMB always becomes involved unless an early deal is reached.

Knowing that the arduous mechanism governing bargaining and imposing often endless mediation favors their bargaining strategy, the railroad companies historically use this process to protract bargaining with hopes of compelling the unions to accept agreements they would not otherwise accept. As such, the railroads have no incentive to bargain in good faith or to reach early settlements. Throughout the process, often taking years to complete, workers are denied long-overdue wage increases and at the same time are barred from exercising their right to self-help. The fact is that in an era where the railroad corporations condemn government regulation, those same corporations insist on strictly regulated labor relations with hopes that the labor movement unilaterally disarms in the event of confrontation.

This perversion of collective bargaining by the nation's major railroads must not be tolerated. The AFL-CIO therefore pledges to assist its rail affiliates in the political and legislative arena and in the bargaining process to ensure railroad workers are treated fairly and obtain timely and just contract settlements.