The Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen National President Dennis Pierce joined the America’s Work Force Union Podcast and discussed the proposed Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) being considered by the 12 railroad unions and explained what could happen if any of the unions fail to ratify the CBA.
The Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen represents over 57,000 members.
Pierce provided details on the proposed CBA, which included a 24 percent raise over several years - the largest increase members have seen in nearly 50 years. However, he said the raise must be weighed against inflation, which is a challenge to predict.
One of the major sticking points in the negotiations was the railroads’ attendance policies and
Pierce felt the unions’ made progress on this issue. Under the current CBA, members were always on-call and docked points for taking time off, even for medical appointments and sick time. The new contract, if ratified, would allow workers to take two days off after working six days – creating a full 90 days workers can take off without accruing points, he added.
Ultimately, it will be up to the unions’ membership to ratify the contract. If any union rejects the proposal, a strike or management lockout is possible, along with potential action by Congress to force a contract, Pierce added.
According to Fortune.com, as of Oct. 14, six unions have ratified the contract and five will vote on it in the coming weeks. One union – the third largest railway union (Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employes Division) – has rejected the CBA but pledged additional negotiations before making a decision to walk off the job.
Listen to the entire episode to learn more about the railroad contract negotiations.