Largest rail union rejects Biden-brokered agreement

The votes are in, and four rail unions representing more than half of the nation’s unionized rail workers are headed back to the bargaining table to reach a deal as another potential strike looms. The largest railroad union, SMART-TD, announced Monday its members voted down the deal President Joe Biden helped broker in September. SMART-TD represents about 28,000 of the nation’s more than 100,000 rail workers. This vote reopens negotiations between SMART-TD and rail carriers, including Fort Worth-based BNSF Railway. A cooling-off period which prevents a strike or lockout by carriers ends Dec. 9. Congress can also intervene to prevent a strike.

“The ball is now in the railroads’ court. Let’s see what they do. They can settle this at the bargaining table,” said SMART-TD President Jeremy Ferguson. “But, the railroad executives who constantly complain about government interference and regularly bad-mouth regulators and Congress now want Congress to do the bargaining for them.” SMART-TD joins three other unions in voting down the deal: the Brotherhood of Railroad Signalmen, the Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employes Division of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters and the International Brotherhood of Boilermakers. The second-largest rail union, the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers & Trainmen, or BLET, announced Monday its members approved the agreement. BLET represents about 24,000 engineers. While eight unions, including BLET, have voted to ratify the deal, it’s unlikely their workers would cross the picket line in the event of a strike. News of SMART-TD’s vote has carriers calling on Congress to step in and avoid a strike that the American Association of Railwords has estimated could cost $2 billion a day.