Ed Michael on Competition

“Competition between IBT trucks and railroads is virtually non-existent. In fact, these two modes of transportation work together efficiently!”

Taken from the BLET Division 724 Membership Packet written by Division President Dale Edward Michael.



For a railroader to believe the plaintiffs who say there is no competition between IBT trucks and the railroads means you have to believe in the tooth fairy, Santa Claus, and that Weapons of Mass Destruction are due to show up in Iraq any day now.



The truth is, there is competition. And due to back room deals made behind the backs of railroaders, we in the UTU are losing out thanks to Michael, Eubanks, Don Hahs and their and their friends at the IBT.

All it takes is a quick read through the IBT Master Freight Agreement (MFA), where it’s plain to see whose side the IBT is not on.

Below are the ground rules the Teamsters set in 2005 for who gets to transport intermodal freight. As you can see, not only do over the road truckers win out, but the MFA lays out the groundwork on Teamster plans to promote trucking jobs at the expense of the rail industry:

Total intermodal rail miles included on line 303 of Schedule 300 of the BTS Annual Report shall not exceed 28 percent of the Employer’s total
miles as reported on line 301 of Schedule 300 of the BTS Annual
Report during any calendar year. . . Effective for Calendar Year 2005
and thereafter, the maximum amount of rail miles as a percent of total miles as calculated above will be reduced from 28% to 26%.

Since the intermodal clause was first put in place, the IBT insisted on renegotiating its share of trucking miles at intermodal sites.

Guess who lost out on that deal?

Yes, the same railroaders that Ed Michael and the Akron plaintiffs want to merge into theTeamsters - the very union openly lobbying to take our jobs away:

Subject to the provisions of Section 6 of the Article, total intermodal rail
miles included on line 303 of Schedule 300 of the BTS Annual Report shall not
exceed 24 percent of the Employer’s total miles as reported on line 301 of
Schedule 300 of the BTS Annual Report during any calendar year. In the event
intermodal rail miles exceed this 24% maximum, the Employer shall be required to remove an appropriate amount of freight from the rail and add a corresponding number of drivers at each affected domicile.

A 28% share of the freight in 2005 that the Teamsters shrunk down to a 24% share today.

But according to Ed Michael, competition is virtually non-existent, right?

The current terms of the MFA are only the tip of the iceberg.

The agreement goes on to detail the IBTs’ future plans for its vision of adding drivers to the detriment of rail workers:

The parties recognize that the current shipping markets demand expedited delivery of freight in a manner that may not be accomplished by hauling certain freight by rail.

Last time I checked, I thought the price of gas was increasing demand for rail, not decreasing it. But what do I know. If Ed Michael says it's true it must be, right?

These market demands create a need to reduce the amount of freight hauled
by rail and to use alternative methods of substitute service.

Unless the Starship Enterprise is an alternate method of transportation, they mean truckers.

As contemplated by Article 20, Section 4, new business opportunities may be
pursued that promote new Teamster job opportunities while protecting existing
Teamster jobs, benefits, and working conditions.

Once again, Teamster jobs, benefits and working conditions only apply to truckers. Railroaders never figure into the equation as Teamsters:

With these facts in mind, the rail miles as a percentage of total miles
will be reduced as follows:

effective Calendar Year 2010, the maximum amount of rail
miles as a percentage of total miles as calculated above will be reduced
from 24% to 21.5%.

Effective Calendar Year 2011, the maximum amount of rail miles as a percentage of total miles as calculated above will be reduced from 21.5% to 21%.

Effective Calendar Year 2012, the maximum amount of rail miles as a percentage of total miles as calculated above will be reduced from 21% to 19%.

Maybe Ed Michael is right. Maybe competition is virtually non-existent. Competition only exists if it’s allowed, not when the rules are written to benefit one side over the other. Maybe that’s what Ed Michael meant. . .competition is non-existent because it's not even allowed.

According to a handout found at Teamsters.org, the Master Freight Agreement assures truckers that it “allows enough freight to be taken off the rails to create new jobs for at least 1,000 Teamster drivers.”

Not a single word about creating jobs for the railroaders that Ed Michael has been lobbying to join the Teamsters.

Instead of fighting their international on behalf of their members’ interests, Teamsters like Ed Michael and Jimmy Eubanks have resorted to slithering on over to our union to block OUR democratically held vote. According to Michael’s old Division 724 website, it’s all in the hope of folding OUR UNION into the Teamsters instead:

We believe that once the operating crafts, and ultimately all rail labor unions unite as Teamsters, we can successfully compete in the bargaining arena to win good contracts for not only transportation employees, but for every rail labor
employee.