Railroad union members vote 99.5% to authorize a July 18 nationwide strike

The membership of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen voted overwhelmingly Tuesday to authorize a strike if progress on a new labor contract isn’t made by the end of the week.

The union is one of 13 rail worker unions negotiating a national labor contract after the previous contract expired in 2019.

The vote comes days before a federally mandated “cooling off period” between the unions and rail carriers is set to expire, after the two sides failed in June to reach an agreement before the National Mediation Board.

The cooling off period that prevents unions from striking or railroads from locking out their workers expires July 18.

At issue are wages and benefits.

The unions have been working without a contract since June 2019 and blame rail carriers for dragging out negotiations while earning what they say are record profits during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Fort Worth-based carrier BNSF reported $5.99 billion in net income in 2021.

Rail carriers have pushed back against union assertions that management hasn’t offered workers a raise.

Jeremy Ferguson, president of the Sheet Metal Air Rail Transportation union, said the offer from carriers is nowhere near what the unions think is fair given the stresses experienced by membership during the COVID-19 pandemic.

If the unions go on strike, it would bring freight rail traffic to a halt.

Around 28% of U.S. freight is moved by rail, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation.

President Joe Biden could prevent the unions from striking by appointing a three-member emergency board to investigate the dispute and make recommendations. These recommendations are non-binding, but can serve as a basis for compromise between the unions and management.