To: All members of Local 53

Dear Brothers:

I was recently notified that the BLET and the IBEW are planning to strike SEPTA at 12:01 a.m., Saturday, June 14, 2014.

I wanted to issue these instructions as a guide for our members. We will honor the strike on SEPTA by the BLET and the IBEW. Our members should continue to report to work for their regular duty tours, but members should not cross a picket line. Keep in mind that a picket line extends across the entire property even when no physical picket line exists, as long as the BLET and IBEW are on strike. Members who are on duty when the strike occurs should finish their duty tour until they are released, and even then, they should not cross a picket line. Only when the strike is over and the picket lines come down should members return to duty. Remember, it is our duty to honor their strike just as we would expect the BLET and IBEW to honor ours if the situation was reversed.

On April 1, 1996, the Grand Executive Council adopted a policy with respect to the observance of picket lines in a legal strike. The policy is reproduced below for your guidance.

“It is the policy of the Brotherhood of Railroad Signalmen to support its members in declining to cross a picket line when another labor organization is on strike. When a strike exists, a member should decline to cross a picket line in order to work until pickets have been removed and the strike is over. The Brotherhood of Railroad Signalmen adheres to the principle that during a strike against a railroad, by a railroad labor organization, a union’s picket line extends across the railroad, one end to the other. Members who are in doubt as to the existence of any legally authorized strike on their railroad should contact their Local or General Chairman, or BRS Grand Lodge.

It is further the policy of the Brotherhood of Railroad Signalmen that the right to decline work during a strike of another labor organization is guaranteed by the Constitution of the United States, the Railway Labor Act and the Railroad Safety Act. The Brotherhood of Railroad Signalmen will support its members in the free exercise of these rights.”

Fraternally,

W. Dan Pickett — President
Brotherhood of Railroad Signalmen
540.622.6522