A majority of members of the Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employees Division (BMWED) voted to reject the tentative labor agreement reached last month with the six Class 1 railroads, according to an Oct. 10 statement from BMWED.
BMWED represents almost 12,000 workers who maintain tracks and other rail facilities, and is the third-largest union seeking a new contract with the nation’s freight railroads. According to the statement, 6,646 BMWED members voted against ratification, while 5,100 supported the agreement.
“The majority of the BMWED membership rejected the tentative national agreement and we recognize and understand that result,” President Tony D. Cardwell said. “I trust that railroad management understands that sentiment as well. Railroaders are discouraged and upset with working conditions and compensation and hold their employer in low regard.
“Railroaders do not feel valued,” Cardwell continued. “They resent the fact that management holds no regard for their quality of life, illustrated by their stubborn reluctance to provide a higher quantity of paid time off, especially for sickness. The result of this vote indicates that there is a lot of work to do to establish goodwill and improve the morale that has been broken by the railroads’ executives and Wall Street hedge fund managers.”
The tentative labor agreement reached on Sept. 15 with the National Carriers’ Conference Committee (NCCC), which represents most Class I freight railroads in national collective bargaining, provides for a 24% wage increase through 2024 and retroactive to Jan. 1, 2020, $5,000 in lump-sum bonus payments, and a 14.1% retroactive portion of the 24% wage increase payable immediately upon ratification (GM Sept. 16, p. 1). In all, 12 unions representing nearly 125,000 rail workers are involved in the contract negotiations.
BMWED’s rejection was followed by news that two other unions voted to approve the contract, bringing the total number of unions supporting the agreement to six. Members of the National Conference of Firemen & Oilers (NFCO), which represents 2,400 rail workers and is affiliated with the Service Employees International Union, voted to ratify the agreement with a 58.7% majority, according to an Oct. 13 statement from NCFO.
Members of the Mechanical Division of the International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail, and Transportation Workers (SMART-MD) also voted to approve the agreement with a narrow 54% margin, according to an Oct. 12 statement from SMART-MD. The close votes by both NFCO and SMART-MD indicate that many rail workers remain dissatisfied with the contract, however.
“Besides the strong wage increases and the increase in our Health Insurance, many members of the NCFO are disappointed with the terms of the agreement,” said NCFO President Dean Devita. “I strongly agree with them. Quality of life issues after the COVID-19 crisis is extremely important; sick leave and time off to visit medical practitioners are more important today than it was 48 years ago. Although the agreement is finalized, the NCFO will continue to work on this and many other issues.”
“It was up to our members to decide whether to accept this agreement, and the members have made the decision to ratify a contract with the highest wage increases we have ever seen in national freight rail bargaining,” said Joseph Sellers Jr., General President of SMART. “However, we hear the concerns of our members who may be disappointed in the outcome of this vote, and I promise that we will never stop fighting to ensure that they receive the wages, benefits, and working conditions that they deserve for keeping the American economy running.”
BMWED’s rejection of the agreement results in a “status quo” period, which lasts until Nov. 19, in which no strike can take place while negotiations resume. Five more unions are scheduled to vote through mid-November, the NCCC confirmed, including the two largest unions. Only BMWED has so far rejected the agreement.
FreightWaves reported that the six unions that have agreed to ratify their labor agreements represent just 19% of a unionized workforce of 124,500 workers, based on 2020 headcount numbers, according to figures provided by transportation analyst Bascome Majors with Susquehanna Financial Group, an investment firm.
According to Bloomberg, if one union were to go on strike, others could refuse to cross the picket line, and rail companies could respond in kind with a nationwide lockout after the Nov. 19 deadline.