Last Update on German Rail Strike
 

Come Monday morning, the chiefs of the GDL union and Die deutsche Bahn will meet with two mediators in an attempt to resolve their well-hardened differences.

Those who claim to know foresee protracted discussions. Both sides have agreed to a cease fire until at least August 27. After that, who knows.

The pay issues are quite complex, and a major complication is the decision by the labor courts to prohibit temporarily active strikes.

The negotiations will take place out of the view of the press; even the meeting place is supposed to be a secret.

I will be in Germany soon and probably out frequent touch with email. For that and other reasons, this will be my last update on the subject for the next few weeks.

It has been fun, and my knowledge of German in terms of being able to read it has improved because of my interest.

I could not help buy wonder at times if Germans pick up American newspapers and wonder at what the #R## that jumble of letters says.

At least todays Tagesschau article was easy to read. Even the longest sentence I saw today made sense without resorting to my dictionary. Perhaps I have made a little progress, too.

Zum ersten Mal kommen heute Bahnchef Mehdorn und seine Personalchefin Margret Suckale sowie Vertreter der Lokführergewerkschaft GdL zu einem Spitzengespräch auf Einladung der zu Vermittlern ernannten CDU-Politiker Heiner Geißler und Kurt Biedenkopf zusammen.

Thanks for the update. Still sounds like a sticky wicket to me, but we'll watch it unfold.

I've been following it up on the Pro Sieben/N24 TV news by satelite. I'm hopeful but still concerned as I'll be there through Aug 31. Have a good trip!

This one I cannot help - the youth in me I suppose.


Tagesschau reported that the meeting places for the labor negotitions between the German rail system leaders and the GDL leaders were secret. Someone commented that the meetings were so secret that even the mediators did not know what they were doing.

I think they know full well what they need to do; the question is can they do it?. The discussions will probably be acrimonious and keeping the details of the verbal slugging out of the newspapers is probably in the best interest of all concerned.

I don't envy the two mediators. They have no coercive power and they sit between two intransigent groups trying to get them to talk without strangling one another. Dampfwalzer (Steamroller) Mehdorn on one side and Rumpelstiltskin Schell on the other.

>Dampfwalzer (Steamroller)
Your German is very good!
Just one thing :-), he's supposed to be a Dampfwalze (Steamroller), a Dampfwalzer doesn't exist, could be a steamy waltz (dance). A Walzdampfer doesn't exist either, but could be a waltzing steamboat. Those endings make an enormous difference.

By Last Update i hope you mean 'latest' update - keep updating - many like reading about it and to others planning rail trips in Germany soon find it important.

bob_brown explained that he was going to be traveling and likely unavailable to issue updates for a few weeks, so that is why he called it the "last" update.