On January 23, BLET members ratified a new six-year agreement with the St. Lawrence & Atlantic Railroad (SL&A).
The agreement provides retroactive pay dating to January 1, 2022, for all active employees, and general wage increases of 24% over the life of the agreement (5% in 2022; 4.5% in 2023; 4% in 2024; 3% in 2025; 3.5% in 2026; and 4% in 2027).
Additional contractual improvements include:
• A fifth week of vacation after 22 years, as opposed to 25 years currently;
• Annual safety shoe allowance would be increased to $400.00; and
• All employees would be paid at time-and-a-half for training or examinations on their rest days.
BLET first organized the St. Lawrence & Atlantic in August of 2013. The membership belongs to BLET Division 274 in Gorham, N.H., and they are represented by the BLET’s CPR-D&H/PanAm (ST), SL&A, NYS&W, CSOR, and NECR General Committee of Adjustment. The BLET negotiating team consisted of National Vice President Randy Fannon, General Chairman Kevin Moore, and Division 274 Local Chairman Daniel Couture.
A subsidiary of Genesee & Wyoming, the St. Lawrence & Atlantic operates over 162 miles of track and interchanges with the New Hampshire Central Railroad in North Stratford, N.H., and Pan Am Railways at Danville Junction, Maine. Its top commodities include chemicals, plastics, lumber and forest products, petroleum products, pulp, and paper.
(G&W image)