On October 17, Presidential Emergency Board No. 253 (PEB) announced its recommendations in the contract dispute between the coalition of unions (including BLET) and the Long Island Rail Road (LIRR).
That PEB recommended raises with full retroactive pay for all involved workers, including about 530 locomotive engineers represented by BLET. The PEB also rejected LIRR’s request for sweeping changes to work rules that would have harmed workers. The members of five rail unions, comprising a majority of LIRR’s unionized workforce, have been without a pay raise for over three years, since April 2022, despite near record inflation.
The five unions last month requested that President Trump establish a Presidential Emergency Board to investigate the contract dispute under the rules of the Railway Labor Act.
“We had hoped to avoid a strike, that’s why our coalition asked for a PEB.” said Kevin Sexton, National Vice President of the BLET. “While we don’t agree with everything the PEB had to say, such as the length of the agreement and the raises were lower than our ask, this is a step in the right direction. Let’s use this report as guidance, get back to the bargaining table and agree to a fair settlement. We can settle this and take away the threat of a disruption in service.”
Among other key findings, the Board determined that pattern principles do not deprive the unions of their ability to negotiate terms outside of an asserted or established pattern. They also found that existing compensation packages are not justification for denying fair wage increases.
The coalition of five rail unions includes the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET), the Brotherhood of Railroad Signalmen (BRS), the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAMAW), the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW), and the Transportation Communications Union (TCU).