From: ACTIV-L via Jym Dyer <jym@mica.berkeley.edu>
Newsgroups: alt.activism,talk.environment,alt.president.clinton
Subject: INFO: Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers Telegram to Bill Clinton
Followup-To: talk.environment,alt.president.clinton
Date: 20 Nov 1992 02:09:51 GMT
Organization: The Naughty Peahen Party Line
NNTP-Posting-Host: remarque.berkeley.edu

[Also Posted to misc.activism.progressive (by Somebody Else)]

=> Newsgroups: misc.activism.progressive
=> From: Nigel Allen <nigel.allen@canrem.com>
=> Subject: Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers Telegram to Clinton

Here is a press release from the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers.

 Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers Telegram to President-Elect Clinton
 To: National Desk, Political and Labor writers
 ontact: Stephen W. FitzGerald of the Brotherhood of Locomotive
          Engineers, 216-241-2630, ext. 251

   CLEVELAND, Nov. 6 -- The president of the nation's senior labor 
union, the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers (BLE), sent the 
following telegram today to President-elect Bill Clinton.  The BLE 
represents 52,000 railroad employees:

   Dear President-elect Bill Clinton,

   On behalf of the men and women represented by the Brotherhood of
Locomotive Engineers and in respect to the hundreds of thousands of
others employed on our nation's railroads, I extend my heartfelt
congratulations to you on your victory.
   Your presidential election victory is especially gratifying to the
BLE because, as you know, this is the first time ever in the BLE's
129-year history that it has officially endorsed, vigorously promoted
and financially supported a presidential candidate.  I am proud that
it happened under my stewardship.  I am proud of your issues-focused
campaign and even more proud of your decisive victory to put people
first.
   In you, we have a president who believes that people who work by
the rules and negotiate according to our nation's laws should be
treated with fairness and respect.  You have said that working people
should be treated as equal partners in the labor-management equation.
   We railroad employees, especially, know it is impossible to
separate our job safety, wages and health benefits -- traditional
collective bargaining processes -- from the political and legislative
processes.  We now know that these processes will be fair from now
on.
   You have promised to deal rightly with the export of American jobs
and industries.  As you have said, jobs are more important at home,
not overseas.
   You have promised to put balance and incentive back into the
collective bargaining processes by signing workplace fairness
legislation, so that employees will no longer be intimidated by
threats that they will be permanently replaced if they exercise their
legal rights to strike when they are not bargained with in good faith
by employers.  I am absolutely convinced this legislation will lead
to many more agreements reached more quickly.  It will also guarantee
fewer union strikes and management lockouts.
   You have promised a serious look at our nation's under-used rail
system as an alternative to the urban gridlock, energy inefficiencies
and environmental damage of other transport modes.  As you know,
railroads are more than three times as energy efficient as trucks.
And compared to all other passenger transportation, higher speed rail
is less damaging to our environment and safer for employees and the
public -- foreign bullet trains have proven it for years.
   Your hope and the hope of every American is to bring our nation up
to speed with our toughest challengers in the global economy,
including Germany and Japan -- which have unionized work forces twice
that of America's.
   As you have said, it takes courage to change.  Now we must invest
our priorities and tax dollars wisely.  If we do, we will reap the
benefits for this and many generations to come.  You will have given
opportunity to all and put the faith of our nation back into its
government.  We are here to help you.
   Again, congratulations on receiving a mandate from the American
people.  The members and families of the Brotherhood of Locomotive
Engineers are proud to have responded to your call for "a new
beginning."

   Respectfully,

   /s/ Ronald P. McLaughlin
       International President
 -30-
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