Rail Strike Possible After Unions Reject Proposed Deal
(CNN) – Rank and file members of another railroad union have rejected a tentative labor deal, a move that further raises the odds that America's freight railroad workers will go on strike sometime next month.The Brotherhood of Railroad Signalmen voted against September's tentative agreement, according to results announced Wednesday.
The vote was 2,810, or 60.5 percent, against the proposed four-year deal, and 1,820, or 39.2 percent, for it. The union represents more than 6,000 employees of the nation's major freight railroads who install, repair, and maintain the signal systems used to direct trains.“For the first time that I can remember, the BRS members voted not to ratify a National Agreement, and with the highest participation rate in BRS history,” said Michael Baldwin, president of the BRS, in a statement.Earlier this month, rank-and-file members of the Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employees District (BMWED), which represents about 23,000 track maintenance workers, voted to reject a similar tentative labor deal, setting the stage for a possible strike as soon as Nov.
19.The National Carriers’ Conference Committee, which negotiates on behalf of the railroads with all the unions, issued a statement saying it was “disappointed” in the results of the vote, but said because of the current cooling off period “the failed ratification does not present risk of an immediate service disruption.”It's unclear what day the signalmen union would be able to go on strike, Michael Baldwin, the union’s president, told CNN.
Under the law that controls rail labor, the unions can go back out on strike after Congress returns to session for five days.
