WASHINGTON — Two unions involved in the negotiations for a new national rail labor contract have asked to be released from mediation with the coalition representing railroads, instead requesting to move to arbitration.
In a letter dated Feb. 23, the Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employes Division of the Teamsters Rail Conference, and the Mechanical Division of the International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers made the request to the National Mediation Board, saying negotiations between the unions and the railroads represented by the National Carriers Conference Committee “are at impasse and that further mediation is not likely to result in agreement.”
The Coordinated Bargaining Coalition, which represents those two unions and eight others, said in a Monday press release that it supports the request and agrees they should “move the contract dispute to the next steps of the Railway Labor Act’s negotiation process.” The coalition said it made it clear to the National Mediation Board at the beginning of mediation “that there is little if any hope of reaching a voluntary agreement in light of the rail carriers’ refusal to bargain in good faith” with the unions.
The 10 unions in the coalition represent more than 105,000 rail workers, more than 80% of the workforce affected by the current negotiations.
The unions declared an impasse in January, leading to the start of mediation [see “Railroads say they welcome unions’ request …,” Trains News Wire, Jan. 24, 2022]. The two sides began negotiations in February 2020, with the railroads’ desire for one-person crews a major issue. In their letter seeking arbitration, the two unions said railroads have proposed “significant” employee concessions on health and welfare benefits.
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