By Justin Franz

FRONT ROYAL, Va. — Members of the Brotherhood of Railroad Signalmen have rejected a tentative labor agreement that their leadership negotiated with a coalition of Class I railroads earlier this fall. It was the second time in just three weeks that a railroad labor union rejected a contract, once again increasing the possibility of a strike or lockout later this year. 

Nearly three-quarters of the union’s more than 6,000 members participated in the vote, union officials said, with 1,820 (39.23%) voting for the new contract and 2,810 (60.57%) voting against it. Nine ballots were “spoiled” and thus not counted. The result means that union leadership will again have to negotiate with the National Carriers’ Conference Committee (NCCC), which represents all five U.S. Class Is, plus Canadian National’s U.S. operations. 

“For the first time that I can remember, the Brotherhood of Railroad Signalmen members voted not to ratify a National Agreement,” said union president Michael Baldwin. 

In September, just hours before a national strike or lockout was set to begin, the White House announced a deal between the carriers and the three unions that had yet to get a contract: the Brotherhood of Railroad Signalmen, the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers & Trainmen, and SMART Transportation Division. The 11th-hour deal was hailed as a win for the railroads and labor and included pay raises for workers. But in the weeks since, some railroaders have said they are unimpressed with the deal their union bosses got them. Earlier this month, members of the Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employees Division voted down their own contract, kicking off a “status quo” period. ​​That period will last until November 19, at which point “self-help” — either a strike or a lockout — could occur. While union members undoubtedly expected their leadership to get a better deal from the carriers, Class I negotiators said they had no intentions of offering more than what they already had.