Rail Strike Looms Larger After Second Pact Rejection

Oct. 28, 2022

Depending on what Congress does, a strike could happen as early as next month.

A nationwide rail strike seems more liable to happen, after a second union rejected a proposed contract with national rail carriers.

The Brotherhood of Railroad Signalmen rejected, by 61% to 39%, a proposed settlement reached last month. That follows a rejection earlier this month by the Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employees Division. The rejection means a strike could take place as early as Nov. 19, although Congress could delay it by extending a mandatory cooling-off period.

The railroads are offering an immediate pay hike of 14% retroactive to 2020, plus 24% over the four-year life of the contract. But the unions object that the contract does not grant any added sick times and does little to alleviate the situation of rail employees being on call every day, subject to last-minute calls to work.

About the Author

Pan Demetrakakes | Senior Editor

Pan has written about the food and beverage industry for more than 25 years. His areas of coverage have included formulations, processing, packaging, marketing and retailing. Pan worked for Food Processing Magazine for six years in the 1990s, where he was operations editor (his current role), touring dozens of food plants of every description. He has also worked for Packaging and Food & Beverage Packaging magazines, the latter as chief editor, during which he won three ASBPE awards. He is a graduate of Stanford University with a BA in communications.