Wabtec Corp. used a new word last week to describe ongoing contract talks with union workers in Erie.

The word was productive.

In a May 17 update, on a web page dedicated to negotiations, the company wrote: "Wabtec had another productive day in negotiations with the UE today. Both parties exchanged non-economic proposals, and tentative agreements were reached on a number of issues."

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Wabtec continued by reporting that the parties had reached a tentative agreement on 16 non-economic proposals.

That progress report might sound mundane, but it represents an upgrade from Wabtec's earlier assessment of talks with two union locals representing about 1,400 members of the United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America at the company's plant in Lawrence Park Township.

A week after negotiations began, the company reported "Progress towards finalizing a new agreement continues to be slow."

Earlier in the process, after talks began April 27, the union also used the word "slow" to describe the state of negotiations.

More recently, UE 506, which represents the majority of the more than 1,400 workers in bargaining units at the local plant, continued last week to emphasize what's become a familiar point of contention, objecting again to what it has described as the company's practice of leaving negotiations in the hands of lawyers.

It's a point that Scott Slawson, president of UE 506, has raised repeatedly in conversations with the Erie Times-News.

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Local 506 made the point again Wednesday in an update on its website.

"Since showing up briefly at the start of contract negotiations on April 27, there has been no one from Wabtec management — who has the power to make decisions — at the negotiating table. Instead, Wabtec has had their attorney reject all of our members' non-economic priorities."

Progress report

Wabtec has made public a detailed report of the proposals submitted by each side concerning issues as varied as layoff notices, the ratio of plant stewards to the number of active employees, rules governing transfers of work, the accrual of personal days and plans for filling job vacancies.

Those reports show there is still much ground to be covered before the current four-year contract is set to expire on June 9.

But those same line-by-line reports also detail the progress that has been made. On May 17, for instance, the two parties agreed that the company will have the sole right to select team leaders and instructors regardless of seniority.

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It is essentially a bullet point of agreement, but it counts as progress as Erie's largest industrial employer and the UE work to reach a tentative agreement in the next three weeks.

Wabtec's history with its unionized workforce in Erie is a short one. It was just a little over four years ago that the Pittsburgh-based company purchased what had been GE Transportation, Erie's largest manufacturer for most of the last century.

The early days of that relationship are most often remembered by a nine-day strike, one of the largest industrial work stoppages the United States has seen in years, that took place when the union and the company failed to agree to an initial contract.

Both sides have expressed optimism that they can come to an agreement.

With the negotiation deadline less than three weeks ago, contract talks are scheduled to resume Tuesday.

Contact Jim Martin at jmartin@timesnews.com.

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This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Wabtec, owners of former GE Transportation, say talks 'productive'