Two more railroad labor unions have reached agreements with CSX to receive four days of paid sick leave for their members.
The unions are the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, and the National Conference of Firemen and Oilers.
CSX reached similar agreements earlier this week with the Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employes and the Brotherhood of Railway Carmen.
The agreement with IAM District 19 covers 700 workers.
A seventh railroad labor union has ratified a contract with management.
The International Association of Machinists (District 19) said on Saturday that 52 percent of its members ratified the contract agreement.
It becomes the first union whose members ratified the contract after previously voting to turn down an earlier contract agreement.
Thus far members of two unions – the Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employees, and the Brotherhood of Railway Signalmen – have turned down the contract.
Both of those unions continue to negotiate with the National Carriers Conference Committee, which represents railroad management.
Three other unions have yet to complete the ratification process, including unions representing locomotive engineers and conductors.
A work stoppage could occur as early as Nov. 19. The maintenance of way union has said it would not strike before that date.
The next union to announce ratification results will be the International Association of Boilermakers and Blacksmiths on Nov. 14.
“We are confident that this is the best deal for our members,” the IAM rail division said in a statement announcing the results of the ratification process.
“District 19 leadership worked day and night to communicate the agreement’s benefits and what would happen if it was rejected.”
In the meantime, numerous trade associations representing railroad shippers have urged Congress to step in and legislate a settlement before a work stoppage can occur.
Railway Age reported that Senators Richard Burr (R-North Carolina) and Roger Wicker (R-Mississippi) are expected to sponsor legislation heading off a work stoppage.
They plan to make that effort shortly after the Nov. 8 elections. Earlier, Burr and Wicker introduced a resolution to impose the recommendations issued in August by a presidential emergency board.
That resolution was cited by IAM leadership as a example of what could happen if union members rejected the contract reached with the NCCC.
The PEB recommendations did not include some additional benefits pertaining to time off and sick days that the contract contains.
The presidents of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen, and the SMART Transportation Division are expected to make similar arguments during a town hall meeting to be held Nov. 9, Railway Age reported.
Both presidents, Dennis Pierce and Jeremy Ferguson respectively, had initially refrained from heartily endorsing ratification of the contract, but of late have begun to urge their members to approve it.
The Railway Age report said rail union leaders and labor-friendly members of Congress are increasingly fearful that President Joseph Biden, who has often called himself the most labor friendly president of all time, will not be so labor friendly should a work stoppage occur and it begins to damage the nation’s economy.
U.S. Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh said on Friday in an interview with CNN that he expects Congress to block a work stoppage later this month.
Walsh, who was instrumental in brokering a tentative contract agreement in September, said he prefers that the two sides work out their differences at the bargaining table.
But if that doesn’t happen, “Congress will have to take action to avert a strike in our country,” Walsh said.
Other unions that have ratified the contract include the American Train Dispatchers Association, Brotherhood of Railway Carmen, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, National Conference of Firemen and Oilers, SMART Mechanical Division, and Transportation Communications Union.
A railroad union whose members rejected an earlier tentative new labor contract has reached a second agreement.
The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, Division 19 said the latest pact is stronger than the contract rejected by its members. The union represents railroad mechanics.
The second agreement was reached through negotiations with the National Carriers Conference Committee, which represents railroad management, after talks began Sept. 26.
The union said the latest agreement provides a cap on healthcare costs of no more than $398.97 through 2025 until a new agreement is reached.
It also included new language providing single room occupancy for railroads to provide roadway mechanics with their own sleeping rooms while traveling on company business.
The carriers also agreed to negotiate with the union over travel expenses and per diem within 60 days of the ratification of the contract.
Also in the contract is an agreement by the carriers to conduct a joint study with the union of overtime, forced overtime policies and overtime meal options.
In a statement, the union said the latest contract agreement includes provisions from the earlier rejected contract as to wages, including a 24 percent compounded general wage increase; a $5,000 service recognition bonus; full retroactive pay, within 60 days of contract ratification, amounting up to $11,950, based on average pay hours (overtime and straight time); an additional paid day off for all members including a paid day off for all newly hired employees hired before Sept. 30 of each year; enhanced hearing benefits, and added coverage for diagnosis and treatment of Autism Spectrum Disorder
The union and NCCC agreed not to conduct any work stoppages through Dec. 9 to give union members time to vote on ratification of the contract
The IAM agreement means that all 12 railroad labor unions have either ratified or are in ratification process regarding tentative contract agreements with the NCCC.
Amtrak and two labor unions are urging the federal government to create a “no ride” list similar to the “no fly” list maintained by the Transportation Security Administration.
The proposal was made in the wake of rioting on Jan. 6 at the U.S. Capitol in which a mob invaded the building and sent members of Congress and their staffs seeking shelter.
“There is nothing more important than the safety of our employees,” Amtrak CEO William Flynn said in a statement.
“Since the start of the pandemic, our dedicated front line employees have kept our trains running, providing a vital transportation service to essential workers,” he said.
“We join our labor partners in continuing to call upon Congress and the Administration to make assaults against rail workers a Federal crime, as it is for aviation workers, and to expand the TSA’s ‘No Fly List’ to rail passenger service.”
The two unions that called for the “no ride” list included the International Association for Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers-Transportation Division, and the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen.
The unions sent their request seeking an emergency order to the Federal Railroad Administration and Department of Homeland Security.
The unions noted that there are no laws or regulations that penalize those who interfere with or do harm to members of train crews.
Nor is there a screening process for passengers similar to that conducted by TSA agents at airports.
The FAA in the meantime has announced that it is tightening enforcement of its rules for how airlines will handle unruly passengers aboard flights.
That action followed multiple reports of members of Congress being verbally harassed and threatened about flights and in airports.
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