MOUNT PROSPECT, Ill. — Though the official count of the merger proposal is still pending, the preliminary count of all the ballots received indicates that the Brotherhood of Railroad Signalmen members have voted against the merger with the Sheet Metal Workers’ International Association.
With just under 60 percent of BRS members returning their ballots, the initial count of the ballots returned is 41 percent for and 59 percent against the merger, according to a release on the BRS website Friday afternoon (June 7). In addition to the officers at Grand Lodge, the tally was observed by five general committee officers, a local chairman, and one member who volunteered to watch over the process.
The ballots were mailed to all BRS members on May 1. The cutoff date for receiving ballots was June 6, 2002, and no more ballots are being accepted. The official and final count will be forthcoming after the Grand Lodge staff rechecks the count. The margin is wide enough that any variation between the preliminary and the final count will not reverse the outcome. It should take about a week to prepare the official results, which will be published in a future Signalman’s Journal or Signalman’s Journal Update and on the BRS website, www.brs.org.