(Trends Wide) — The United States faces a growing risk of a crippling national freight rail strike in two weeks after rank-and-file members of the nation’s largest railroad union, which represents drivers in the industry, rejected a tentative labor agreement with California railroads. cargo, the union announced Monday.
The country’s second largest rail union, which represents engineers, ratified its own contract. But the failure of the drivers to ratify their own agreement is another setback to efforts to avoid a crippling national rail strike.
The two unions are the transportation division of the Sheet Metal, Air, Rail, Transportation, (SMART-TD) union, which represents some 28,000 drivers, and the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET), which represents some 24,000 engineers. Engineers and conductors make up the two-person train crews. Both unions reached tentative agreements in September in a marathon 20-hour bargaining session just hours before their previous strike deadlines.
US President Joe Biden called those agreements “a victory for tens of thousands of rail workers and for their dignity and the dignity of their work.” He had been directly involved in the final round of talks, but his praise of the agreements was not enough to win the approval of rank-and-file drivers’ union members.
The agreements almost got the support they needed to be ratified by both unions. It was ratified by the engineers, with 53.5% voting in favour, while an apparent majority of drivers also voted in favor of ratification.
But the drivers’ vote ultimately failed because union rules require each of the five classes of workers within the union to approve the agreement for it to be signed. Although 64.5% of members who ride the locomotives with the drivers supported the agreement, 50.87% of the union’s train and engine service members voted against ratification. Those members did not get the same contract upgrade that other SMART-TD members got in the final negotiations, and that apparently led to the deal falling through.
The drivers will remain on the job while negotiations resume in an attempt to find a deal that is acceptable to members. The negotiators face a strike deadline of December 9.
The no vote follows rejections of similar contracts by rank-and-file members of three other rail unions: one representing track maintenance workers, another whose members maintain and operate the signal system, and a third representing locomotive mechanics and welders.
If even one of the twelve railway unions went on strike, the other 11 would honor the cuts, shutting down the railways.
If the unions cannot reach new agreements before the strike deadline, Congress could order rail workers to stay on the job or return to work.
Congress is already facing calls from a wide range of business groups to act to prevent a strike. About 30% of the country’s cargo is moved by rail, when measured by the weight of the cargo and the distance it travels. Therefore, a strike could cause widespread disruptions to the supply chain and the broader economy of the nation, which is still struggling. If the strike continues for an extended period, it could lead to widespread shortages and higher prices for goods, including fuel and food.
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(Trends Wide) — The United States faces a growing risk of a crippling national freight rail strike in two weeks after rank-and-file members of the nation’s largest railroad union, which represents drivers in the industry, rejected a tentative labor agreement with California railroads. cargo, the union announced Monday.
The country’s second largest rail union, which represents engineers, ratified its own contract. But the failure of the drivers to ratify their own agreement is another setback to efforts to avoid a crippling national rail strike.
The two unions are the transportation division of the Sheet Metal, Air, Rail, Transportation, (SMART-TD) union, which represents some 28,000 drivers, and the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET), which represents some 24,000 engineers. Engineers and conductors make up the two-person train crews. Both unions reached tentative agreements in September in a marathon 20-hour bargaining session just hours before their previous strike deadlines.
US President Joe Biden called those agreements “a victory for tens of thousands of rail workers and for their dignity and the dignity of their work.” He had been directly involved in the final round of talks, but his praise of the agreements was not enough to win the approval of rank-and-file drivers’ union members.
The agreements almost got the support they needed to be ratified by both unions. It was ratified by the engineers, with 53.5% voting in favour, while an apparent majority of drivers also voted in favor of ratification.
But the drivers’ vote ultimately failed because union rules require each of the five classes of workers within the union to approve the agreement for it to be signed. Although 64.5% of members who ride the locomotives with the drivers supported the agreement, 50.87% of the union’s train and engine service members voted against ratification. Those members did not get the same contract upgrade that other SMART-TD members got in the final negotiations, and that apparently led to the deal falling through.
The drivers will remain on the job while negotiations resume in an attempt to find a deal that is acceptable to members. The negotiators face a strike deadline of December 9.
The no vote follows rejections of similar contracts by rank-and-file members of three other rail unions: one representing track maintenance workers, another whose members maintain and operate the signal system, and a third representing locomotive mechanics and welders.
If even one of the twelve railway unions went on strike, the other 11 would honor the cuts, shutting down the railways.
If the unions cannot reach new agreements before the strike deadline, Congress could order rail workers to stay on the job or return to work.
Congress is already facing calls from a wide range of business groups to act to prevent a strike. About 30% of the country’s cargo is moved by rail, when measured by the weight of the cargo and the distance it travels. Therefore, a strike could cause widespread disruptions to the supply chain and the broader economy of the nation, which is still struggling. If the strike continues for an extended period, it could lead to widespread shortages and higher prices for goods, including fuel and food.
