Rail Union Extends ‘Cooling Off’ Period

One of the railroad labor unions that rejected an amended contract has agree to extend its cooling  off period to be in line with other unions that also rejected the contract.

The Brotherhood of Railroad Signalmen and the National Carriers Conference Committee, which represents railroad management, agreed to maintain the status quo through midnight Dec. 9.

That same date has been agreed to by three other unions who members rejected the contract. Eight other railroad labor unions voted to ratify the contract.

A national railroad work stoppage could begin as soon as 12:01 a.m. on Dec. 9 unless the two sides agree to a different contract, they extend the cooling off period to allow for more negotiations, or Congress steps in to foreclose a work stoppage.

Machinist Union Members Ratify Contract

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.

Union Had Demanded More Paid Sick Days

The negotiating team representing railroad management said on Thursday that a railroad labor union whose members rejected a tentative contract offer is seeking additional paid sick days.

The National Carriers Conference Committee told negotiators for the Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employees Division of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters that the railroads would not agree to that demand.

On Thursday the NCCC, which represents railroad management, issued a statement saying the demands made by the union were similar to those considered and rejected by a presidential emergency board, which in August had issued recommendations for a new contract.

The PEB had been appointed after the talks for a new contract had reached an impasse.

The NCCC statement describes the wage and benefits recommended by the PEB and included in the tentative contract offer rejected by the maintenance workers as “the most generous wage package in almost 50 years of national rail negotiations.”

The NCCC statement went on to say that the union has taken the stance that railroaders are not allowed to take sick leave, which the NCCC said is a premise that is “easily disproven.”

“Rail employees can and do take time off for sickness and have comprehensive paid sickness benefits starting, in the case of BMWED-represented employees, after four days of absence and lasting up to 52 weeks,” the NCCC statement said.

The statement went on to say that past collective bargaining agreements reflected the agreement by union and management alike that “short-term absences would be unpaid in favor of higher compensation for days worked and more generous sickness benefits for longer absences.”

In ratification voting, 43 percent of the maintenance workers favored accepting the tentative agreement.

Members of six other railroad labor unions have voted to accept the contract while the ratification process continues at five other unions. The ratification process is not expected to be completed before Nov. 17.

The maintenance workers union leadership has suggested that its members might strike on or after Nov. 19.

Railway Age magazine reported that the maintenance workers union leadership has recommended that its members contact their members of Congress to express the need for more paid sick days.

“The push for paid sick time off could potentially lead to Congressional action,” the union said. “While we hope the carriers will acknowledge the concerns of their employees and negotiate with us, it is important that we are prepared for their unwillingness to address quality of life concerns.”

A report written by the magazine’s Washington correspondent Frank Wilner said the Nov. 19 date for a strike would fall during a time when many members of Congress will not be in Washington to vote on legislation to end a work stoppage.

Wilner said it may also be a transition time with control of Congress set to change in early January as a result of the early November elections.

“Many members who were defeated or are retiring will be negotiating new employment with lobbying and law firms—a Washington ‘revolving door’ tradition,” Wilner wrote. “There will be incentive for many to double-down on pro- or anti-labor images, or avoid choosing sides and not vote. In short, lame-duck sessions are the worst of times for such a rail work stoppage to occur.”

Trains magazine reported on its website that railroads and their unions are still completing the details of a clause in the tentative agreement requiring railroads to pay some job-related travel expenses.

That report quoted Union Pacific CEO Lance Fritz as saying that once union members have more details on how travel expenses will be handled that it is likely union members will approve the tentative contract.

MOW Workers Reject Contract

The threat of a rail stoppage looms next month after members of the Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employees Division voted to reject a tentative contract.

The union will return to the bargaining table with the National Carriers Conference Committee, which represents railroad management.

In a statement, BMWED President Tony Cardwell said his members “are discouraged and upset with working conditions and compensation and hold their employer in low regard.”

He said railroaders do not feel valued and resent that, in their view, management holds no regard for their workers’ quality of life.

Cardwell cited what he termed the “stubborn reluctance [of the railroads] to provide a higher quantity of paid time off, especially for sickness.”

The American Arbitration Association counted and verified the election results.

Of the 11,845 BMWED members who voted, 6,646 were against ratification and 5,100 were in favor.

BMWED said those were record numbers of members voting on a tentative labor agreement.

The union said it will not engage in a strike and the carriers cannot lock out workers until Nov. 19.

In the meantime, ratification voting continues among members of seven other railroad labor unions. Four unions have ratified the tentative agreement. The last national railroad work stoppage occurred in 1992.

A report posted on the website of Railway Age noted that ratification voting by other railroad labor unions is expected to continue through Nov. 20.

Third Rail Union Ratifies New Contract

Members of a third railroad labor union have ratified a tentative labor contract.

The National Carriers’ Conference Committee, which represents railroad management, said on Wednesday that the union was the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers.

Ratification voting remains in progress at nine other unions. Based on statements issued by those unions that process is expected to last through mid November.

The IBEW represents nearly 6,000 rail workers and had announced on Sept. 1 that it had reached a tentative agreement with the NCCC.

IAM Reaches Another Tentative Contract

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.

Contract Voting to Last Through Mid-November

The ratification process of the tentative railroad labor contract is expected to drag on into mid-November.

Trains magazine reported Friday on its website that the two largest railroad labor unions, the SMART Transportation Division, and the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen, have provided their members a timeline for how the ratification process will play out.

The timeline includes a question-and-answer period in which members are being invited to pose questions about the contract agreement.

As part of that Q&A process, the unions said they might need to return to the negotiating table with the National Carriers Conference Committee, which represents railroad management, to clarify the meaning of certain contract provisions and how they will be implemented in practice.

BLET and SMART-TD represent about half of the 125,000 union railroad workers affected by the recent contract talks. Those workers are represented by 12 unions.

Under the timelines released by BLET and SMART-TD, voting would begin in mid-October with results announced in mid-November.

That would effectively put off a potential work stoppage until after the mid-term elections.

The Trains report also indicated that negotiations continue between the NCCC and the International Association of Machinists District Lodge 19, whose members voted down a tentative contract earlier this month.

A memo sent to members from the union, which represents mechanics, said the talks are making progress.

Members of two railroad labor unions have voted to ratify tentative agreements while the ratification process is ongoing with other unions.

One reason for the Q&A sessions is because some rail workers say they want more concrete details about the changes in sick leave and assigned days off that were agreed to in the tentative pact announced early on the morning of Sept. 15, less than 24 hours before a potential national rail work stoppage.

The Hill, a website devoted to covering the federal government and politics, said some rail workers are wondering how strong the contract language is.

Earlier this week leaders of BLET and SMART-TD told their members that some of the language was still being written and reviewed by attorneys representing both sides of the talks.

Ron Kaminkow, an organizer at Railroad Workers United, told The Hill there’s “a lot of anger, confusion and hostility” toward the new agreement because workers believe what they have been told thus far has been intentionally vague.

In an interview with The Hill, Robert Bruno, a professor of labor and employment relations at the University of Illinois, predicted workers eventually will ratify the agreements but there will be a “sizeable number of ‘no’ votes.”

Bruno said it may be that union negotiating committees “misread what the rank and file would support.”

He said many of the “no” votes will be motivated by rail workers who feel they’ve been abused.

“Usually, there’s a way to kind of figure out money,” Bruno said. “It’s very often issues that go to respect and go to treatment, working autonomy, worker ability to have some control over their life. I think it reflects just how much power employers can have, even under a collective bargaining agreement.”

The Hill report also indicated that many rail workers dread the prospect of Congress imposing new contract terms on rail workers.

That might occur because elected officials fear a railroad work stoppage would disrupt the economy by keeping shipments of food, fuel and other key commodities from moving.

Quoting an unnamed Norfolk Southern locomotive engineer, The Hill report said workers believe that that gives them leverage in getting what they want from railroad management, particularly in terms of work rules.

Rail Worker Group Plans Informational Picketing

A railroad workers group plans to conduct informational picketing today to seek to draw public attention to railroad crew shortages and the lack of a “decent quality of life” that railroaders have.

Trains magazine reported on its website that the group, Rail Labor for Coordinated Bargaining in 2025, plans what it termed a “practice picket” at railroad terminals with rail workers participating in the event before and after their work shifts.

The picketing comes less than a week after three railroad labor unions reached a tentative agreement with the National Carriers Conference Committee, which represents railroad management.

That contract is in the process of going through the union member ratification process.

Since 2020, members of 12 railroad labor unions have been working under the terms of an agreement that expired that year, but under federal law railroad labor contracts remain in force until they are amended by mutual agreement of the carriers and their unions.

In a related development, the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers District 19 plans to resume negotiations with the NCCC this week.

Members of that union last week had voted to reject a tentative agreement reached earlier. The union said the agreement failed on a vote of 63 percent opposed and 37 percent in favor of ratification.

IAM District 19 is in a “cooling off” period through Sept. 29 when it might strike.

Two unions have voted to ratify tentative agreements with the NCCC while nine other unions have yet to complete voting on the agreements reached by their union leadership. The Trains article can be read at https://www.trains.com/trn/news-reviews/news-wire/rail-workers-group-calls-for-wednesday-picketing/

Rhetoric Continues to Rise in Contract Dispute

A ninth railroad labor union has reached a tentative agreement with the National Carriers Conference Committee, which represents railroad management in contract talks.

In the meantime, various shipper trade associations continued to apply pressure on Congress  to settle the dispute to avoid a strike or lockout that could occur as early as Friday.

President Joseph Biden also called top railroad management executives and union leaders to lobby them to settle the contract dispute, which a union president said on Monday is stalled over railroad attendance policies.

The latest union to reach a tentative agreement is the National Conference of Firemen & Oilers.

A news release from the union said the tentative pact implements the recommendations of a presidential emergency board of a 24 percent compounded wage increase over the five-year length of the contract, which covers the period of 2020 through 2024.

Workers would receive retroactive pay to cover 2020 and 2021 and parts of 2022. They also would receive five annual $1,000 lump sum payments.

That leaves three unions, which represent locomotive engineers, conductors and signal workers still at the bargaining table. The 12 railroad labor unions represent 125,000 workers.

The latest agreement came as various parties in the dispute continue to heat up the war of words.

Dennis Pierce, president of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers & Trainmen, said on Monday that worker attendance policies are the primary unresolved issue in the contract talks.

Pierce said during an appearance on cable news network CNBC that BNSF and Union Pacific in particular are being adamant about refusing to modify their attendance policies.

“We’re just looking for time away from work to address our medical issues,” Pierce said.  “Union Pacific and BNSF attendance policies are assessing [penalty] points to our members when they just want to take time off for their regular medical appointments.”

In response, BNSF told CNBC that Pierce’s claims were false while UP said it was continuing to push for a “prompt resolution” to avoid a shutdown of the national freight rail system. 

In a related development, leaders of the SMART Transportation Division union told Congressional leaders on Tuesday that lawmakers should let rail labor contract negotiations play out.

In a letter to Congress SMART-TD legislative director Greg Hynes said union members would reject a tentative contract based on the recommendations of the PEB by a 3-to-1 margin.

Hynes also said in his letter that the top issue in the contract talks is not wages but working conditions.

He said the carriers “are still refusing to provide our members with minimal provisions to improve their overall quality of life, and to recognize their contributions to the industry and to the American economy.”

The PEB appointed by President Biden earlier this year was largely silent on work rules, saying  only that they should be negotiated at the local level between the railroads and the unions.

Unions have described the attendance policies that railroads have imposed as “draconian.”

“Through egregious and excessive absenteeism policies, the railroads have taken away our members’ ability to be a worthy parent and dependable spouse; and they have eliminated any realistic means for an employee to receive medical services or care for a sick child without being assessed discipline or termination,” Hynes wrote.

The PEB did recommend that workers receive one additional paid day off.

The Association of American Railroads said in a statement that workers have numerous ways to take time off, including paid vacation, sick leave and supplemental sick leave policies through the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act.

The AAR statement said crews also can mark off for any reason “if they maintain a reasonable level of overall availability under carrier attendance policies.”

BNSF said its workers generally get three to five weeks of paid vacation and 10 to 14 paid holidays or personal leave days, and received a 25 percent increase in personal leave days.

UP officials said it “understands our employees want a different way and process … to request and receive time off for things like medical appointments. We are in active discussions with the unions to try to address these concerns.”

In the meantime, several trade organizations have called on Congress to intervene to head off a strike and/or lockout.

They include the National Industrial Transportation League, one of the largest and oldest group of rail shippers, and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

“NITL members and shippers of all sizes in all regions continue experiencing dismal freight rail service due primarily to the implementation of precision scheduled railroading. Any disruption in freight rail service will negatively impact our nation’s international competitiveness while making inflation even worse which is affecting all Americans,” Nancy O’Liddy, executive director of the NIT League, wrote in a Sept. 12 letter to congressional leaders.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce said a strike would be an “economic disaster.”

On Monday, President Biden and members of his cabinet held emergency meetings in Washington and have been talking with the parties in the labor dispute.

The Federal Railroad Administration said it “is initiating oversight and enforcement efforts to ensure safety during any potential interruption of rail operations.”

3 More Unions Reach Tentative Contract Pacts

Three more railroad labor unions have reached tentative agreements with the National Carriers Conference Committee, which represents railroad management.

The agreements were announced over the weekend and involve the Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employees Division of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters; the International Brotherhood of Boilermakers; and the International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers-Mechanical Department.

A statement released by the two sides indicated that the tentative agreements generally implement recommendations made by a presidential emergency board of a 24 percent wage increase over the five-year period covered by the agreement.

This would include a 14.1 percent wage increase effective immediately and five annual $1,000 lump sum payments.

If ratified by members of those unions, workers would receive back pay in line with the terms of the contract retroactive from 2020.

The latest agreements mean eight of the 12 railroad labor unions negotiating with the NCCC have reached tentative agreements.

BMWED is the third largest of the 12 unions, which collectively represent 125,000 railroad workers.

Other unions that have reached tentative contract agreements include the the American Train Dispatchers Association; the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers; the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers; and the Transportation Communications Union, including its allied Brotherhood of Railway Carmen.

Unions that have yet to reach agreements remain in a “cooling off” period through Friday. At that time they will be free to strike.

Still without agreements are the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen, which represents 24,700 workers, and the Transportation Division of the International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers, which represents 37,400 workers.