An ACRE member and supporter wrote the following letter. The author states “Stop spreading false non existent conspiracy theories. It's a good contract. The best ever and a lot of us gave up a lot to get it so, please, fight the company not each other. Look up the meaning of union in the dictionary.”

This letter reflects the ACRE member mentality on Metro-North. The author responded to the fact that the next MTA Board meeting is not until September 26 th , and information and questions were posted as to why this deal was rushed through and ACRE members only received about two weeks to return their ratification ballots.

First of all this is not a great contract. This contract will be used as a stepping-stone by the MTA to get every other union under their umbrella to extend their retirement pension plans to age 62 with a 20% overtime cap calculation for their pensions. Second ACRE takes another zero percent wage increase. This time it is to pay for the early retirement of senior members, once again at the expense of junior and new hires. This issue should have been resolved in the last contract negotiations when the pension was negotiated. ACRE members greatly overpaid for the pension plan to begin with. Metro-North management received the same plan all the way back to 1983 and the only thing which management employees gave up was the value of their Vanguard accounts. Management did not have to contribute the 3% salary contribution forever. Management employees co-pay 18% of their health and medical, but receive lifetime medical benefits. ACRE employees received the same exact wage increases that the TA received. So what is so great about this contract? So far the only truth the author of this letter has right is the fact that “ ACRE members gave up a lot to get this contract.” The same could be said about the last ACRE contract. I see a pattern here. The only non-existent information that is missing from ACRE members is the full time union release positions that Mike Doyle and Tony Bottalico negotiated with the MTA. Also Mike and Tony negotiated secret side bar agreements for all ACRE officers to be paid by the company when marking off union business and their golden retirement package which combines their full time union release positions with their union salaries.

Upon looking up the word union in the dictionary, it states “the act of uniting”. This will never happen with an association like ACRE. Its' officers are looking out only for their best interest and Metro-North's interests. ACRE members are treated as pawns that are easily expendable. ACRE member work rules and agreements are also expendable. ACRE members have no contract books nor pension information or meetings. No ACRE member knows for sure exactly what he or she is entitled to. You have to seek an opinion from an ACRE officer. They must seek an answer from Metro-North Labor Relations. So in essence, when you fight ACRE you are fighting the company. ACRE is a scab, company association, with ACRE officers on their payroll to do their bidding. In any other industry they would call this arrangement “on the take” and these ACRE officers would be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. But the MTA being an independent agency that polices and answers only to themselves, nothing is done. Just like the ACRE being an independent association. They too make up their own rules and answer and police themselves. I wonder where ACRE officers learned how to do that?