[Maintenance workers voted against the tentative agreement reached
last month and said without a fair contract, a work stoppage could
begin as early at November 19.]
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MAJOR RAIL UNION REJECTS WHITE HOUSE-BROKERED CONTRACT PROPOSAL  
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Julia Conley
October 10, 2022
Common Dreams
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_ Maintenance workers voted against the tentative agreement reached
last month and said without a fair contract, a work stoppage could
begin as early at November 19. _

Workers service the tracks at the Metra/BNSF railroad yard on
September 13, 2022 in Chicago, Scott Olson/Getty Images

 

A UNION REPRESENTING RAILROAD maintenance and construction workers on
Monday announced that its members have rejected the tentative
agreement reached last month between unions and rail carriers, putting
pressure on the carriers to offer a better deal to workers in order to
avoid a nationwide strike in the coming weeks.

Reporting a turnout of 11,845 members, the Brotherhood of Maintenance
of Way Employees Division (BMWED) said
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voted against ratifying the agreement and 5,100 had supported the
deal, which was brokered last month with the help of the Biden
administration's Presidential Emergency Board. Ninety-nine ballots
were returned blank or were voided due to user errors.

The tentative agreement reached
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month would include one additional paid day off and permit workers to
take unpaid days to receive medical care without being penalized by
carriers' strict attendance policies—two key concessions from the
companies, as railroad workers' unions had expressed deep
dissatisfaction with attendance rules and a lack of any paid sick
time.

The deal also would include a 24% pay raise between 2020 and 2024 and
would freeze workers' monthly contributions for their healthcare
plans.

After the tentative agreement was reached on September 15, the
railroad sector's unions agreed not to strike as workers across the
industry voted on the deal.

Now, said the BMWED—the nation's third-largest rail workers' union
and a division of the Teamsters—on Monday, a work stoppage could
begin as early as November 19, depending on the upcoming votes by
other unions.

_Labor Notes _journalist Jonah Furman called the BMWED vote "a huge
deal," as a strike by the union's members "would shut down the
national rail freight system" by itself.

The last nationwide railway shutdown took place in 1992, when a single
union
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voted against a contract agreement and went on strike.

Monday's announcement could potentially sway the members of the
Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET), which is also
a Teamsters affiliate, and the Sheet Metal, Air, Rail, and
Transportation Workers-Transportation Division (SMART-TD)—two rail
unions which have been negotiating
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a fair contract with carriers for several years and which will vote on
the tentative deal in the coming weeks.

"This thing ain't over yet," tweeted
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Girard, a railroad worker. "BMWED's rejection will probably embolden
SMART and BLET members who were on the fence."

Tony D. Cardwell, president of the BMWED, said
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vote signifies that despite U.S. President Joe Biden's positive
outlook following the tentative agreement—which earned the White
House praise [[link removed]]
from the corporate media last month for helping the country avoid a
strike and a major disruption to the economy—rail workers continue
to be "discouraged and upset with working conditions and compensation
and hold their employer in low regard."

Rail carriers, as _Common Dreams_ reported last month, have seen their
profits soar
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in recent years as workers have labored without a contract, earning
stagnant wages.

"Railroaders do not feel valued," said
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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 membership voted in record numbers on this tentative agreement,
exhibiting that they are paying close attention and are engaged in the
process," Cardwell added. "BMWED members are concerned with the
direction of their employers and the mismanagement and greed in which
they have consistently implemented, and are united in their resolve to
improve their working conditions across the entire Class I rail
network."

With the union rejecting the agreement, the BMWED entered a "status
quo" period Monday, with negotiators returning to the bargaining table
with freight carriers.

"That status quo period will extend to five days after Congress
reconvenes, which is currently set for November 14," said
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an agreement is not reached by then, workers could resort to
"self-help," or a strike, on November 19 at the earliest.

An internal poll taken
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SMART-TD after the tentative deal was reached showed that 78% of
members wanted the union to reject the agreement "and ultimately let
Congress decide the National Rail Contract."

The vote announced Monday shows that BMWED "members are fed up with
the carriers' abusive work practices," said
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grassroots movement Teamsters for the Democratic Union, and are "ready
to demand more."

Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel
free to republish and share widely.

* Railroad Contract; Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way; National Rail
Contract;
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