National Contract Negotiations
The Tentative Agreement and Agreed Upon Q&A’s are available in the Member’s Area
News
Machinists union strikes improved tentative deal with U.S. railroads
The agreement, that covers 4,900 members, will now be put for a vote by members, a division of International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) said in a statement.
IBEW members approve new railroad labor contract
Rail workers with the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) have voted to ratify the union’s labor contract with U.S. freight railroads. IBEW joins two other unions, the Transportation Communications Union/IAM and the Brotherhood of Railway Carmen, that voted to ratify their contracts. IBEW has nearly 4,000 members working for member carriers of the National Carriers Conference Committee (NCCC), the group representing the railroads in labor negotiations.
BLET Advisory Board Resolution on Tentative National Freight Agreement
IT IS NOW HEREBY RESOLVED:
1. The Advisory Board unanimously supports the decision made by the National Wage Committee to send the Tentative Agreement to the membership for their consideration.
2. The Advisory Board further recognizes that our Bylaws require that the membership be given the right to vote on the contract, and fully respects their right to vote in favor of or against the Tentative Agreement. Should the Tentative Agreement fail ratification, every member of the Advisory Board will be on the picket line with the membership when the cooling-off period ends.
BLET announces timeline for balloting in Tentative National Agreement
Once the Q&A session is complete, the tentative plan is to distribute ballots to the affected members on or around Friday, October 14, with a tentative count date on or around November 17, 2022.
There may not be a strike at freight railroads, but the service is still terrible
The fact that there is not a freight railroad strike happening this week is a huge win for the US economy and its still struggling supply chain.
Opinion: Cheap at twice the price
And I think railroad management has to recognize the bargain it gets, and adjust its scheduling, staffing and service requirements to enhance the ability of this bargain resource to do what it has done over the past forty years—deliver the goods.
Editorial: Rail workers’ struggle shows the power of organized working class
Top level government officials, even the president himself, were compelled to make the grievances of railroad workers their top priority. This is testament to the huge power that the working class holds when it is organized and willing to fight.
A rail strike averted reminds us that there is power in a union
The short story behind the now-averted railroad strike is this: The largest freight railroad carriers in the country were willing to cripple the transportation infrastructure of the United States rather than allow their workers to take the occasional day off to see a doctor or attend to their families.
U.S. railroad worker fight for pay, benefits could be model for other deals
While not directly applicable to ongoing negotiations at U.S. West Coast ports and upcoming talks at United Parcel Service, the rail workers’ potential win could embolden other workers who have toiled through the COVID-19 pandemic while watching employers reap record profits, labor experts said.
Farm Bureau says staffing shortages on rail lines continue to hurt Nebraska agriculture
While the tentative agreement means Nebraska’s agriculture sector avoided the worst of the effects, they still see the impacts of the ongoing staffing crisis on rail lines first hand, said Nebraska Farm Bureau’s president Mark McHargue.