Tausi Insider

The two largest U.S. rail unions representing conductors and engineers split in ratification votes on a tentative contract deal reached in September raising the possibility of a strike or lockout that could cause significant damage to the U.S. economy. Members of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET) voted to ratify the agreement while train and engine service members the transportation division of the International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail, and Transportation Workers (SMART-TD) voted to reject the deal. SMART-TD yardmasters voted to ratify their national agreement, the unions said Monday. The vote could put pressure on Congress to intervene to prevent a strike or lockout ahead of the holiday season. “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 said in a statement. “This can all be settled through negotiations and without a strike.” If there i...

U.S. President Joe Biden speaks in the Oval Office of the White House, in Washington, on Dec. 1. LUDOVIC MARIN/AFP/Getty Images President Joe Biden signed legislation Friday to block a national U.S. railroad strike that could have devastated the American economy. The U.S. Senate voted 80 to 15 on Thursday to impose a tentative contract deal reached in September on a dozen unions representing 115,000 workers, who could have gone on strike on Dec. 9. But the Senate failed to approve a measure that would have provided paid sick days to railroad workers. “It was tough for me but it was the right thing to do at the moment – save jobs, to protect millions of working families from harm and disruption and to keep supply chains stable around the holidays,” Biden said, adding the deal avoided “an economic catastrophe.” Eight of 12 unions had ratified the deal. But some labour leaders have criticized Biden, a self-described friend of labour, for asking Congress to impose a contract that workers...