CLEVELAND, November 25 — The Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen has reached a Letter of Agreement with the BNSF Railway that would provide a 3 percent general wage increase to approximately 7,500 locomotive engineers across the BNSF system.
The BLET settled its wage and work rule issues with BNSF in the last round of bargaining with an on-property agreement dated November 3, 2009. That agreement provided general wage increases (GWIs) for the life of the contract period with the last GWI applicable on January 1, 2014.
The January 5, 2012 National Agreement likewise included GWIs for the same period, but also included a 3 percent GWI to be effective on January 1, 2015.
If the proposed Letter of Agreement is ratified, a 3 percent GWI will be applied to all BNSF locomotive engineer rates on January 1, 2015.
The Parties have reached a further understanding that if the Letter of Agreement is ratified, they will participate in national bargaining.
Online and telephone voting will be conducted by TrueBallot, Inc. Ballots and instructions, along with a copy of the Letter of Agreement and synopsis, will be mailed on Monday, December 1 to BLET active members working for BNSF, and voting will continue until 3:00 p.m. EST on Monday, December 29, 2014.
Members who are eligible and have not received a ratification packet by December 8 should call the National Division (216) 241-2630, extension 222. When connected with the extension, please leave the following information:
• your name, address and phone number;
• the division to which you belong;
• the date you were promoted to locomotive engineer;
• your date of birth;
• your Social Security number; and
• an e-mail address if you would like your ballot and voting instructions e-mailed to you.
E-mail requests for ballots will not be accepted because personal information is required to verify eligibility before a ballot can be issued.
President Pierce urged all eligible members to participate in the ratification process. “The issue is pretty straight forward in this case and I encourage all members to participate in the Brotherhood’s democratic process by voting,” President Pierce said.