Oct. 5, 2009

MEXICO - UNITED STATES - CANADA

At the invitation of the Mexican Railwaymen's Union (STFRM), the railway unions of North America, met in Mexico City July 20-24, 1998, united in the trade union spirit that characterizes railway workers throughout the world.

The railway workers of North America declare their unity in securing fair and equal treatment for the performance of their services, and agree to create a railway labor coalition that can meet with equal strength the large multinational railroad corporations.

The unions adopted a framework of open and full communication, harmony and friendship that will bind all railway workers in this region in advancing and protecting the peculiarities of railroad work. Expressing unity in the objective of obtaining respect and justice through negotiated collective bargaining agreements, the signatory unions reached the following conclusions:

1. To establish permanent links of mutual assistance and cooperation,
2. To interchange experiences and information regarding working conditions, wages, benefits, legislated social protections, pensions, new technologies and work methods, worker safety, health and welfare and other related issues, including the safe operation of trains and railroad work in general.
3. To work closely in the development of collective bargaining strategies, most particularly in connection wfth common railway employers.
4. To study the impact of privatization and deregulation in the railway industry, its impact on workers and to develop appropriate responses to meet the challenges posed by those developments.
5. To adopt mutual solidarity assistance pacts among the signatory unions as a means of helping each other during labor conflicts in our industry.
6. To give continuity to the important work initiated through this first conference of North American railway unions through a regular exchange of delegations from the three unions, with the understanding that the next conference shall be held in the United States and the subsequent one in Canada, at a time and place to be determined by the parties at a later date.
7. To develop a comprehensive strategic plan for the protection of all railway work now performed by members of the railway unions of North America and to require that no sub-contractor handle any railroad work normally performed by Mexican, U.S. and Canadian railway union members without agreement with our railway unions and Brotherhoods.
8. Finally, the signatory unions DECLARE their firmest intention to strengthen the railway labor movement in Mexico, the United States and Canada, lending emphasis to training and skills development, education and full cooperation on social and labor issues affecting the three countries.

This TRILATERAL LETTER OF AGREEMENT, was adopted with a clear trade union spirit and with the deep conviction that working in unity, the railway workers of North America will profit from the best of their combined experiences for the benefit of the workers represented by our unions. We, therefore, adopt this document in Mexico City, D.F., on this the 23 rd day of July of 1998.

Dip. Fed. Victor F. Flores Morales

Secretario Nacional, S.T.F.R.M.

Sindicato de Trabajadores Ferrocarrileros de la Republica Mexicana

Clarence V. Monin President, B.L.E. Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers AFL-CIO

M.A. "Mac" Fleming President, B.M.W.E. Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employes AFL-CIO

www.ble.org/pr/archive/tla_eng.html