Oct 10 (Reuters) – A union representing employees who build and maintain tracks said on Monday its members rejected the tentative contract deal with a committee representing major U.S. freight railroads.
The Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employes (BMWED), which represents more 11,000 workers, said the rejection results in a “status quo” period where the union will reengage bargaining with the Class I freight carriers.
The union said the vote “indicates that there is a lot of work to do to establish goodwill and improve the morale that has been broken by the railroads’ executives and Wall Street hedge fund managers”.
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Last month, President Joe Biden announced that other unions, including those representing thousands of workers, and the National Carriers’ Conference Committee (NCCC) had reached a tentative deal, staving off a costly strike that could have crippled U.S. supply chains. read more
So far, only four of the 12 unions have ratified the agreement.
Rail parties had agreed to a cooling-off period, a standard part of ratification process in case vote fails in order to avert any shutdown, Reuters had reported earlier last month. read more
In September, a division of International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers reached an improved tentative contract deal with the NCCC after its members rejected it earlier. read more
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Reporting by Aishwarya Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Shailesh Kuber
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