September 28, 2022 |
The tentative, last-minute deal between railroads and their workers could collapse, according to several news reports Tuesday.
In one of the reports, the Daily Mail cites union leaders’ dissatisfaction with “intentionally” vague details.
Voting among the rank-and-file members of the 12 labor unions involved in the negotiations begins Thursday and lasts until mid-October.
The Daily Mail report quotes Railroad Works United activist Ron Kaminkow saying that average rail workers feel “a lot of anger, confusion and hostility” toward the deal, with the workers unhappy about vague details about sick leave and other days off.
Another publication, Labor Notes, said a contract rejection “is still a very live possibility, based on discussions with members and leaders of various unions involved.”
A third report in The Hill notes that nearly 36 hours after the agreement was announced with fanfare praising the White House’s role in brokering a deal, rail workers said they still didn’t have concrete details on sick leave and voluntarily assigned days off. That’s raised some doubts about just how strong the new contract language is.
If just one of the 12 unions votes against the deal, tens of thousands of workers could go on strike and essentially shut down nearly 40 percent of freight shipping in the U.S. The temporary agreement struck earlier this month came hours before a cooling-off period expired, averted for now the first railroad strike in 20 years.
