Statement on Signing a
Bill Concerning a Dispute Between the
I
have signed H.J. Res. 683, legislation that will impose an additional 60-day
cooling-off period, effective until September 19, 1986, in the current
unresolved labor-management dispute between the Maine Central Railroad (and its
subsidiary, the Portland Terminal Company) and certain of the employees of
these carriers represented by the Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employees
(BMWE). Under the joint resolution, a special board will be created to study
the dispute and make recommendations to the Congress by September 9.
This
administration is against the intervention of the Federal Government in the
resolution of limited, isolated labor disputes. However, all the procedures in
the Railway Labor Act for settling the Maine Central-BMWE dispute have been
exhausted, and as a result of recent court decisions, the possibility exists of
a national railroad strike stemming from this unresolved dispute. I earnestly
hope that the parties will avail themselves of the additional cooling-off
period in H.J. Res. 683 to settle their dispute.
Note:
H.J. Res. 683, approved August 21, was assigned Public Law No. 99-385.