The National Carriers’ Conference Committee (NCCC), which represents most U.S. Class I railroads (and many smaller ones) in national collective bargaining, reported on Oct. 4 that the American Train Dispatchers Association (ATDA) membership has ratified the tentative labor agreement.
In a final effort to avoid a nationwide rail shutdown as early as Sept. 16, the National Mediation Board (NMB) has ordered railroad negotiators and the leadership of unions still at the bargaining table to return to Washington, D.C., Sept. 7 for an NMB-guided try at reaching tentative agreements on amending wage, benefits and work rules contracts.
The memberships of the Brotherhood of Railroad Signalmen (BRS) and the American Train Dispatchers Association (ATDA), which collectively represent nearly 11,000 railroad workers, have ratified a new national agreement.
Represented by the National Carriers’ Conference Committee, the major U.S. railroads late Thursday reached tentative agreements with the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen and the American Train Dispatchers Association, which together represent about 26,500 employees in collective bargaining. The last remaining union without a settlement, the Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employes (BMWE), agreed with the railroads to extend the “cooling off” period until Feb. 8, 2012, eliminating the immediate threat of a national rail strike, which could have occurred as soon as Dec. 6.
