(Reuters) – A union representing railway construction and maintenance workers said on Monday that its members rejected an attempted settlement with a committee representing major U.S. freight railways.
The Brotherhood of Way Maintenance Employees (BMWED), which represents more than 11,000 workers, said the refusal leads to a period of “lull”, in which the union will resume negotiations with Class I freight carriers.
The union said the vote “indicates that much work remains to be done to establish goodwill and improve broken morale among railroad executives and hedge fund managers on Wall Street.”
Last month, President Joe Biden announced that other unions, including the National Carriers Conference Committee (NCCC), representing thousands of workers, had reached an interim settlement, averting a costly strike that could cripple media chains. American supplies.
So far, only four of the 12 unions have ratified the agreement.
Reuters reported earlier last month that the railroad parties had agreed on a cooling-off period, a standard part of the ratification process in case the vote fails to prevent any closures.
In September, a division of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers entered into an improved temporary contract with the NCCC after its members had previously rejected it.
(Reporting by Aishwarya Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Shailesh Kuber)