According to the Association of American Railroads (AAR), most rail labor unions have voted to ratify contracts negotiated earlier this year.
Rail unions Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET) and Sheet Metal, Air, Rail, Transportation union (SMART-TD), AAR said, ended their voting periods recently. BLET successfully ratified its bargaining agreement, while a portion of SMART-TD, the union representing conductors and other rail employees, did not ratify their agreement. The votes mean that eight of the 12 rail labor unions, plus a portion of SMART-TD’s membership, have now agreed to contracts that provide employees with a 24 percent wage increase through 2024 and preserve employees’ healthcare coverage.
“Today, the BLET joined the majority of our unions in approving the largest wage increases in nearly five decades and also paved a path toward greater scheduling predictability for its members,” said AAR President and CEO Ian Jefferies. “Railroads stand ready to reach new deals based upon the PEB framework with our remaining unions, but the window continues to narrow as deadlines rapidly approach. Let’s be clear, if the remaining unions do not accept an agreement, Congress should be prepared to act and avoid a disastrous $2 billion a day hit to our economy.”
The new agreements begin addressing schedule predictability and job assignment issues for BLET members. For SMART-TD members, the rejection of the bargaining agreement means rejecting further scheduling negotiations, AAR said.
SMART-TD members are split between conductor, brakemen, engine service, and yardmen groups, and another group of approximately 1,300 yardmasters. While the yardmaster group ratified its agreement, the other group did not.
SMART-TD members that did not ratify the agreement join the Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employes (CQ) (BMWED), Brotherhood of Railroad Signalmen (BRS), and the International Brotherhood of Boilermakers, Iron Ship Builders, Blacksmiths, Forgers and Helpers (IBB) as groups without agreements in place. If agreements are not in place by Dec. 5, the end of cooling-off periods, BRS members could strike. AAR officials said a work stoppage could have an economic impact of about $2 billion per day.
AAR said railroads remain committed to reaching agreements with the remaining unions but that time is running short and that Congress should be prepared to act.