Boyd spoke to more than 750 members here at the first of three UTU regional meetings. Meetings also will be held in Washington, D.C., in July and in New Orleans in August. The issue most on the minds of Reno attendees was the tentative contract between the UTU and most of the nation's major railroads. UTU members will be asked to ratify that agreement in July.

A consequential component of the tentative agreement is control, ownership and operation of remote control technology. "The issue is not whether change is going to occur," Boyd said. "The issue is who is going to control the new technology, who is going to own the new technology and who is going to operate the new technology."

Boyd explained how the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers (BLE) walked away from an ability to control technology in Canada and, as a result, lost thousands of jobs there to the UTU. Now, Boyd said, the BLE is hoping to take those jobs from UTU members in the U.S. "What your UTU has won for you is the ability to control your own destiny," Boyd said. The UTU agreement also offers protection to engineers, he noted.

"Your UTU national officers and negotiating committees have broken free of a failed tradition among other organizations that simply react to events," Boyd said. "Your UTU is shaping events by meeting challenges with vision, courage and leadership that are defining a new frontier in labor relations. We are the labor union for the 21st century."

The UTU's objectives, Boyd said, "are as clear as the history of the labor movement: more, now. That means a combination of wages, health care, job safety, employment protections and retirement benefits. When viewed as a package, UTU contracts give us the peace of mind in knowing we have a secure future for ourselves, our spouses and our children."

The UTU negotiating team spent much time explaining the proposed national agreement, which includes wage increases and elimination of entry rates in addition to UTU members controlling, owning and operating remote control devices. The agreement also puts UTU in the driver's seat with regard to health care.

The carriers, which are demanding increased cost sharing from other unions - and which already have won increased cost sharing from one major rail union - are taking a different tack with the UTU. The carriers agreed to a UTU demand for a status quo pending a study of alternative means of controlling soaring health-care costs.

That study will include plan redesign, cost containment, administrative changes and vendor review. Any agreement would be subject to member ratification. Should the matter go to binding arbitration, the arbitrator would be required to consider UTU study evidence. This separates UTU from the other rail unions, Boyd said.

"In every aspect of our lives, it is an inevitable fact that we must confront change," Boyd said. "Change occurs whether we are ready or not and whether we want it or not. Were our fathers and grandfathers successful in attempting to stop the introduction of diesel locomotives?" he asked rhetorically. "Many of you have first-hand experience in how we couldn't stop elimination of the caboose.

"Remote control is technological change," Boyd said. "From an Air Force base in Florida, U.S. servicemen use remote control to fly unmanned warplanes in Afghanistan. From an office in Jacksonville, CSXT dispatchers use remote control to open switches in Michigan. And, every day for the past decade in rail yards across Canada, our brothers and sisters have used remote control to switch freight cars.

"If change is inevitable - and it is - then we must devise a strategy to make change our ally and not our enemy," Boyd said. "Those who deny change are really condemning themselves to be controlled by it. They will lose in the short run as well as the long run. This is because history records that everyone who has resisted change has lost."

To read the text of President Boyd's Reno speech, click here.

The proposal, which must be ratified by the UTU rank-and-file, would increase wages substantially by December 2004, eliminate a two-tier wage system, protect UTU members against job loss from implementation of remote control technology and require railroads to study alternative means of controlling soaring health-care costs.

The proposed contract affects primarily some 65,000 operating employees on Burlington Northern Santa Fe, CSX Transportation, Kansas City Southern, Norfolk Southern and Union Pacific.

"This is a superior economic agreement that delivers wage increases well in excess of inflation, guarantees that our members are not going to lose their jobs because of remote control technology and puts the UTU in the driver's seat with regard to health-care cost reform," said UTU International President Byron A. Boyd Jr. "This contract is about improving our members' standards of living and providing them with long-term survivability in a world where technology is replacing humans."

The complete agreement and ballot could be delivered to UTU members by early July. General chairpersons have until June 7 to submit questions regarding contract interpretation, which will be sent out to rail negotiators for a written response. The contract, questions and answers, a history of negotiations and other explanatory material then will be sent members eligible to vote. They will have 21 days in which to study the contract and cast a ballot.

"Even were one to uncouple the proposed tentative agreement from the remote control package, which provides additional pay and protection, what is left still would be far superior to anything else out there," Boyd said.

"This proposal gives us control over our destiny," said Assistant President Paul C. Thompson. He recalled that when computers first appeared in railroad yards, they were embraced rather than opposed by yardmasters. "Anytime new technology comes on the market, the workers who embrace that technology become the long-term survivor," said UTU Yardmasters Division Vice President Don Carver.

The contract briefing took place in the main hearing room of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, which was made available to the UTU for the entire day by the bi-partisan committee leadership. When House Railroad Subcommittee Chairman Jack Quinn (R-N.Y.) stopped by to check on progress, he said: "I try not to put my nose into others' business, but if you have an opportunity to work out this issue before it gets to us, you will be much better off."

Quinn echoed comments by UTU General Secretary and Treasurer Dan Johnson that if the agreement is not ratified and the Bush White House appoints a Presidential Emergency Board, the UTU is likely to be much worse off. "You are better off making decisions yourself," Quinn said. "If the issue comes before us for resolution, it won't get done to your liking because we can't control the politics."

Although the carriers sought more than a dozen work rule and other changes when negotiations began, the tentative contract contains none of those carrier proposals. "Each would be alive again -- such as the 160-mile day, combining of extra boards and elimination of the Federal Employers' Liability Act -- if this agreement is rejected and we wind up with a Presidential Emergency Board," Johnson said.

Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.), who also visited with the UTU officers May 23, later told UTU National Legislative Director James Brunkenhoefer that while he (Baucus) strives to protect the interests of organized labor, Congress would very likely give the UTU less if ratification fails and the White House acts to head off a work stoppage.

"There is a war going on and the nation is still in a recession," Brunkenhoefer said. "After the railroads tell Congress that a work stoppage could affect national security and that we are among the highest paid industrial workers in America, there is not going to be a lot of support for us on Capitol Hill even with all the friends we have. The staff that advises Congress pays several hundred dollars a month toward their health insurance. So there we would be, arguing for a status quo where we pay almost nothing toward health insurance."

UTU Vice President Arty Martin said that elimination of the dual basis of pay, which would scrap lower entry rates, combined with an the additional payment for operating remote control technology, could increase wages for many by $1,000 per month and allow many UTU employees now renting apartments to afford a home for their families.

"Evaluate this contract by the light of reality," Boyd said. "Remote control is not going away. So we must ask ourselves: Do we want this work? Do we want to decide our destiny? Or do we want to give the work to the BLE and let BLE negotiators decide our destiny?"

Here is a summary of the tentative contract:

-- General wage increases of 4 percent July 1, 2002; 2.5 percent July 1, 2003; and 3 percent July 1, 2004.

-- $1,200 longevity bonus paid all pre-1985 employees.

-- Alternative compensation programs, such as stock options, stock grants, bonus programs and 401(k) plans to be offered at carrier discretion and only implemented by mutual agreement with general committees.

-- All cost of living adjustments since July 1, 2000 ($3.84 per day) rolled into wages and subject to all general wage increases.

-- Status quo for health-care benefits and cost sharing pending study and negotiation concerning plan redesign, cost containment, cost sharing, administrative changes and vendor review. This separates UTU from the BMWE settlement and other rail unions. Any agreement reached after study is subject to ratification. Failing agreement, issues may go to arbitration, but UTU study and other materials may be used.

-- Trip rates established for through freight assignments. Full pay for deadhead trips, which will result in significant increases for pre-'85 employees. All post-'85 employees will be brought to parity.

-- Overtime not included as a pay element in trip rate calculations. Overtime will continue to be paid as it is.

-- Trip rates implemented within 30 months. If not, dual basis of pay for post'85 employees eliminated.

-- Effective July 1, 2004, employees subject to entry rates will receive the full rate of pay when working as a conductor/foreman, brakeman/helper hostler or engineer (on carriers party to agreement where UTU represents engineers).

-- Off-track vehicle accident benefits increased to $300,000 and aggregate benefit to $10 million. Maximum per week payment to an injured employee increased from $150 to $1,000.

-- All employees in train service or on a train-service seniority roster eligible for protection against adverse affects of remote control operations.

-- UTU represented engineers will be included in the protected class.

-- UTU will offer BLE protection for BLE-represented engineers.

-- Overview committee of UTU and carrier representatives to discuss and resolve problems associated with remote control technology.

-- Yardmasters receive same benefit package as basic agreement; longevity payment for pre-1987 employees; an increase in supplemental sickness; parity with operating crafts on vacation; and turnover time not to exceed 15 minutes at straight time rate when transitioning work responsibilities between shifts.