The city of Omaha is in Nebraska. Even though two other unions rejected their agreements last month, another one of the 12 railroad unions narrowly approved its deal with the major freight railroads Saturday.
In order to prevent a strike, all 12 railroad unions have to approve contracts that include raises and bonuses, but seven have already done so.
Concerns remain about the possibility of an economically devastating strike because the Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employes Division and Brotherhood of Railroad Signalmen unions voted down their contracts, and many workers say these deals just don't address their quality-of-life concerns No strike is imminent because those unions agreed to return to the bargaining table to try to work out a new deal, but those talks have been stalemated over the unions' demands for paid sick time.
The railroads have rejected union demands for paid sick time because they say the deals they've been offering include higher wages that are intended to compensate workers for the lack of sick time. The railroads want any deal to closely follow the recommendations made this summer by a special panel of arbitrators.
Over the years, the unions have agreed to give up paid sick leave in favor of better wages and benefits, according to the railroads.
According to the group that negotiates on behalf of Norfolk Southern, Union Pacific, BNSF, Kansas City Southern, and other railroads, the deal the Machinists approved includes the largest wage package in nearly five decades.
After rejecting their first agreement, the Machinists voted on another one. A cap on health insurance expenses, an agreement that the railroads will study how much overtime employees are being forced to work, and a promise that each railroad will negotiate individually are some of the additional benefits included in this one.
Workers will not be forced to share hotel rooms when they are on the road for work, as promised by the railroads.
"Our union recognizes that the agreement wasn't accepted overwhelmingly, so our team will continue conversing with our members at our rail yards across the nation." The first step in addressing some of the issues is the agreement. The lack of paid sick leave and work life balance issues were highlighted in our fight.
Engineers and conductors are represented by the largest of the three unions that will vote this month.
The engineers and conductors who work for the railroads say that their strict attendance policies keep them on call all the time. The results of votes by the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen and the Transportation Division of the International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers unions won't be made public until after the deadline.
Business groups have urged Biden and Congress to be ready to intervene if both sides can't agree on a new contract. Congress has the power to block a strike and impose terms on the workers if there is one, if Biden was involved in securing these original deals back in September.
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