Members of a third union – the International Brotherhood of Boilermakers (IBB) – have voted to reject ratification of the tentative agreement with the nation’s major freight railroads, according to a Nov. 14 announcement by the National Carriers’ Conference Committee (NCCC), which represents most Class I freight railroads in national collective bargaining.
The IBB represents just 300 rail employees out of the approximately 115,000 involved in this bargaining round. Seven unions have already voted to ratify the agreement, which is based on recommendations made by a Presidential Emergency Board (PEB) this summer (GM Aug. 19, p. 1) and includes an immediate 14.1% wage increase, retroactive to Jan. 1, 2020, and a 24% wage increase by 2024; $5,000 in lump-sum bonus payments; adjustments to health care premiums; and an additional paid day off.
“The NCCC and IBB previously agreed to maintain a cooling off period until Dec. 9 in the event the tentative agreement was not ratified,” the NCCC said in a statement. “As such, the failed ratification does not present the risk of any strike or job action taken by IBB and the potential for any resulting service disruptions. The NCCC will remain engaged with IBB throughout the remaining cooling off period and will continue to seek an agreement based on the framework recommended by Presidential Emergency Board 250.”
According to the Association of American Railroads (AAR), average rail worker wages under the tentative agreement would reach about $110,000 per year by the end of the five-year contract. When health care, retirement, and other benefits are considered, the AAR said the value of the total proposed compensation package would average about $160,000 per year.
The two largest unions – the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET) and the International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail, and Transportation Workers Transportation Division (SMART-TD) – are expected to announce their voting results on Nov. 21. Combined, those two unions represent about half of all unionized rail employees.
All 12 unions have to approve contracts to prevent a strike, and if any union continues to reject the contract, all the rail unions would honor their picket lines and refuse to work at the end of the cooling off period.
The Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employees Division (BMWED), which is the third largest union, representing almost 12,000 rail workers, voted in mid-October to reject the agreement (GM Oct. 14, p. 1), citing ongoing disputes over paid sick leave and other quality-of-life issues. Just two weeks later, the Brotherhood of Railroad Signalmen (BRS), which represents more than 6,000 rail workers, also voted against the agreement (GM Oct. 28, p. 1).
The BMWED and the freight railroads have agreed to extend their cooling offer period until at least Dec. 4 to allow BLET and SMART-TD to complete their voting. As a result, no work stoppage will occur prior to that date. The BRS has also agreed to maintain the status quo until early December while negotiations continue with the NCCC.