4th union approves railway pact
Largest have yet to vote on contract with 24% raises
OMAHA, Neb. — Another union has approved the deal it made with the major freight railroads last month that helped prevent a strike to secure 24% raises and $5,000 in bonuses for the workers it represents.
The American Train Dispatchers Association says that 64% of its roughly 1,600 members approved the deal with Union Pacific Corp., BNSF Railway Co., Kansas City Southern, CSX Corp., Norfolk Southern Corp. and other railroads.
The union said dispatchers will receive an average payout of $17,500 when the five-year deal becomes final because it is retroactive to 2020.
Four smaller railroad unions have now approved deals with the railroads, but the two biggest unions that represent engineers and conductors won’t vote on their tentative agreements until mid-November.
All 12 unions that represent some 115,000 workers have to approve these deals to prevent a strike, but much of the attention is focused on engineers and conductors because they levied some of the biggest concerns about work schedules and conditions.
Those two unions have said that strict attendance policies some railroads have installed — after the industry cut nearly one-third of its jobs over the past six years — make it difficult to take time off and keep workers on call 24/7.
But even if one of the rail unions rejects their deal now, there won’t automatically be a strike because the unions and railroads have agreed to allow some time to return to the bargaining table ahead of a work stoppage.
Most of the deals the rail unions are voting on closely follow the recommendations
that a special board of arbitrators President Joe Biden appointed this summer to help resolve the contract dispute. It began nearly three years ago.
The administration put pressure on both sides to reach agreements before the Sept. 16 strike deadline because of concerns about how a strike might cripple the economy.
In addition to what that board recommended, the unions that represent engineers and conductors — the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen and the Transportation Division of the International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers unions — also negotiated to get three unpaid leave days for medical appointments and a promise that workers won’t be penalized if they are hospitalized.
The railroads also agreed to negotiate further with those unions on improved scheduling for regular days off.