The prospect of a rail strike loomed larger
this week after members of a second union voted to reject the tentative labor
agreement reached in September with the six Class 1 railroads.
The Brotherhood of Railroad Signalmen
(BRS), which represents more than 6,000 rail workers, announced on Oct. 26 that
60.57% of its members voted against the agreement, which provides for
a 24% wage increase for five years 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).
The BRS vote follows the announcement
earlier this month by the Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employees Division
(BMWED) that a majority of its members had also voted to reject the agreement (GM Oct. 14, p. 1). BMWED represents
almost 12,000 rail workers.
“For the first time that I can remember, the BRS members voted not to
ratify a National Agreement, and with the highest participation rate in BRS
history,” said BRS President Michael
Baldwin in an Oct. 26 statement. “Without Signalmen, the roadways and railroad
crossings would be unsafe for the traveling public, and they shoulder that
heavy burden each day.
“Additionally, the highest offices at each carrier, as well as their stockholders, seem to forget that the rank-and-file of their employees continued to perform their job each day through an unprecedented pandemic, while the executives worked from home to keep their families safe,” he added.
Baldwin’s statement said ongoing disputes over paid time off for illness were a primary reason for the negative vote, a factor that was also cited by the BMWED. The agreement reached in September included raises and bonuses that a Presidential Emergency Board (PEB) recommended this summer (GM Aug. 19, p. 28), as well as concessions from railroads to ease attendance policies to allow workers unpaid days off for doctor’s appointment without penalty.
As it currently stands, six of 12 unions have now voted to approve the deal, while two have rejected it and the remaining four will reveal voting results in mid-November. The National Carriers’ Conference Committee (NCCC), which represents freight railroads in labor talks, said on Oct. 26 that it was disappointed in the BRS vote, but both sides have agreed to maintain the status quo until early December.
After its vote to reject the agreement, the
BMWED submitted a counteroffer to the NCCC in mid-October that reportedly
called for a basic package of six paid sick days, a proposal that was promptly
rejected by the NCCC. “Now is not the time to introduce new demands that
rekindle the prospect of a railroad strike,” the NCCC said in an Oct. 19
statement.
“Now, following an unsuccessful initial
membership ratification process, BMWED leadership is asking for additional
benefits and threatening to strike, this time based on the easily disproved
premise that union workers are not allowed to take sick leave,” the NCCC said.
“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 structure of these benefits is a
function of decades of bargaining where unions, including BMWED, have
repeatedly agreed that short-term absences would be unpaid in favor of higher
compensation for days worked and more generous sickness benefits for longer
absences,” the NCCC added.
In an Oct. 26 letter to members, BMWED National Division President Tony Cardwell
responded to the NCCC by describing the union’s counterproposal for paid sick
days as “reasonable” and “a common benefit in nearly every other industry” in the US.
“We provided our proposal to the railroads, but they rejected
it and indicated they would not consider any proposal that veers from the PEB
recommendations,” Cardwell said. “BMWED leadership has gone on a campaign of
informing the public and lawmakers of the railroad companies’ unwillingness to
provide basic sick days while carrier executives bow to Wall Street’s continued
desire for more than its fair share. As long as they take that stance, all we
can do is encourage solidarity and prepare to exercise self-help.”
The 12 unions involved in labor negotiations collectively represent approximately 115,000 rail
workers at the major Class 1 freight railroads. The railroads have
estimated that a rail strike could cost the economy $2 billion per day.
To avert a potential strike, more than 300
business groups on Oct. 27 sent a letter to President Biden urging federal
intervention. The letter’s signers included The American Farm Bureau Federation,
Alliance for Automotive Innovation, National Retail Federation, and U.S.
Chamber of Commerce
“Unfortunately, we
have seen two unions reject the agreement and there are concerns that others may
follow. If that were to be the case, we could witness a strike that would shut
down the entire freight rail system,” the letter said. “Because the White House
played such a central role in the process, we believe it can be helpful in
continuing to move the process forward in a positive direction. Otherwise,
Congress will be called upon to act.”
