Two unions' rejection of tentative contract deals make it more likely that engineers' and conductors' unions will vote no, too, increasing the prospect of a strike
A U.S. railroad strike now seems inevitable.
The Brotherhood of Railroad Signalmen overwhelmingly rejected their tentative contract agreement with the railroads this week, following in the footsteps of the Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employees, who turned down their deal earlier this month.
This makes it almost certain that the rank-and-file members of the two largest rail unions — the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen and the SMART-TD union that represents conductors — will vote down their proposed contracts as well. They’re now due to release the results of their ballots on Nov. 21.
As holidays near, a nationwide rail strike is still on the table
Like many rail workers, he expected better, in part because of what he'd been hearing from the White House. President Biden has repeatedly talked of being the most pro-union administration in American history. He appointed former union leader Marty Walsh as Secretary of Labor. If anyone would go to bat for rail workers, it would be this president and this labor secretary, Murtagh believed.
"It was like, this is our time," he says.
He was stunned when Biden's Presidential Emergency Board released its recommendations, which became the framework for the tentative agreement. The unions had requested 15 paid sick days, up from zero. The board responded by recommending just one additional personal day.
The nation's largest rail union on Monday voted down a tentative contract brokered by the White House, raising the possibility of a nationwide strike next month that could cripple the U.S. economy.
The SMART Transportation Division, or SMART-TD, which represents about 28,000 conductors, rejected the contract in a vote that garnered record turnout, the union said Monday. The contract was nixed by a slim margin, as just 50.8% of workers voted against it.
One of the largest railway workers unions voted to reject a contract deal brokered by the Biden administration in September. Seven unions have agreed, but all 12 need to approve it to avoid a potentially economically devastating strike. Richard Edelman, attorney for BMWED, a union that voted against the contract, joins CBS News to discuss the contract and what workers say its missing
Pelosi said the House would not change the terms of the September agreement, which would challenge the Senate to approve the House bill without changes.
Statement from President Joe Biden on Averting a Rail Shutdown
The reasons that Biden gave for not allowing the strike and insisting that Congress "force" the lame agreement the Union reps agreed to, was the damage to the economy, and national security concerns, etc....
Well, then, RR workers must actually be Federal Workers (without the Federal Benefits) and not know it, because practically speaking RR workers do not have a real option to actually go on strike, EVER.... because economy and national security, etc...
"A letter from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to Democratic colleagues promised two votes, reflecting the consternation she was hearing from members. The first vote will be on adopting the tentative labor agreement. The second will be on a measure to add seven days of paid sick leave for railroaders to the agreement."
This explains the procedure of what it will take to get both of the House Resolutions passed through the US Senate, and what roadblocks and delays there could be as the strike date approaches...
"Both House-passed resolutions—with resolutions having the same effect as legislation, and each applying to most Class I railroads and their 12 labor unions—now proceed to the Senate where passage will be trickier, owing to that chamber’s unique parliamentary rules."
“Unless Congress wants to become the de facto endgame for future negotiations, any effort to put its thumb on the bargaining scale to artificially advantage either party, or otherwise obstruct a swift resolution, would be wholly irresponsible,” said Ian Jefferies, head of the AAR.
On the other hand, the Transportation Trades Department labor coalition that includes all the rail unions praised the vote to add sick time and told lawmakers who voted against it they had “abandoned your working class constituents.”
The focus now turns to the Senate where the timing for a vote is unclear. Labor Secretary Marty Walsh and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg will meet with Democratic senators Thursday to discuss the rail negotiations.
The agreement that the great and almighty Biden. Admin. brokered and forced through was shitty to the rank and file RR workers. It was a display of the raw and uncaring power of the RR companies. The rank and file RR worker does *not* have a friend in the White House.
Only Fox, and not the two-faced liberal MSM outlets, spoke at length about this forced agreement is not what most the RR workers wanted, as the 4 of 12 RR unions that voted against form the bulk of all RR workers. The liberal two-faced MSM outlets all Happily regurgitated the Biden WH talking points, over and over and over, and over again.
