Railroad Unions Delay Threatened Strike Date

Article by: Rick Walker, Vice President, TradeInsights, LCB, CCS

The threat of the railroad strike which was set for November 19 has been pushed back until at least December 4 as four major unions have agreed to coordinate the date on which they could potentially strike. The third-largest railroad union, the Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employee Division (BMWED), had been prepared to strike as soon as November 20, the Sunday before Thanksgiving. But the group announced last Wednesday that is has agreed to extend negotiations with the railroads until at least December 4, the deadline set by another union, the Brotherhood of Railroad Signalmen. The rank and file members of both unions have rejected the tentative agreements reached with the railroads in September, mostly over the lack of sick pay in the contracts. According to CNN, “The two largest rail unions, the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen and the Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation union, which represents conductors, are holding their own ratification votes, the results of which are due November 21. If one or both of those unions reject the deals, they would be prepared to strike December 9. If one or both of those contracts are voted down, the BMWED said it is ready to further push its strike date back to December 9.” Delaying the date of a threatened strike will “provide an opportunity to increasingly educate members of Congress — who have been out of session and consumed by the mid-term elections — about the railroad workers’ state of despair that management has created, and the railroad workers’ need for paid sick time off,” said the BMWED in a statement.

We will continue to monitor this situation and provide updates as they become available.

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