Reality concerning National in Scope

ACRE claims: this ruling establishes ACRE's status as a labor organization “national in scope” and should put to rest the last of the misinformation that has been spread over the past year.

Reality is: if you refer to the Employer Status Determination from the Railroad Retirement Board dated 8/7/2000, ACRE was determined to be National in Scope by the Railroad Retirement Board because ACRE, in its guise as a labor organization, was determined to be an employer, deducting Railroad Retirement taxes, etc., from the paychecks it distributes to its employees and officers. Notice on page three of the Railroad Retirement Boards determination, the National Railroad Adjustment Board (NRAB) is mentioned. For ACRE to gain true National in Scope status, the National Railroad Adjustment Board would have to recognized ACRE and allow ACRE to participate in the selection of labor members to the NRAB. This has not occurred, nor will ACRE ever be allowed this status.

At the bottom of page three, you see the actual Railroad Retirement Board determination. It is self-explanatory and was not included with the several passages Jack Gaines quoted in this ACRE Newsletter. Why the selective passages Jack?

What happens to a union and its membership in a merger, if they are not national in scope?

ACRE states: the most notable and honored guest was MTA Chairman, E. Virgil Conway who stopped by to say hello and wish ACRE success in the future.

Reality: MTA Chairman rarely get involved with union matters. Here we have the MTA Chairman going out of his way to attend the ACRE opening of their new offices. Did Mr. Conway attend any other union open houses prior to ACRE and wish these unions success in their futures? Ask Mike and Tony how many dinners and golf outings they attended with Mr. Conway prior to the formation of the ACRE? Was this invitation open to all of the other union leaders from Metro-North? Sounds like a pretty close relationship just for our officers. Maybe this is why M-N paid for the CMS terminals in the ACRE union office. Do any of the other union offices have computers that Metro-North installed and paid for? Does this place these other unions and their members at a disadvantage when dealing with Metro-North? Is and can this be considered favoritism towards ACRE from the MTA?