CLEVELAND, April 17 — By a nearly 4-to-1 margin, members of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET) have ratified a new on-property collective bargaining agreement with Union Pacific.
Ballots were counted yesterday and the final tally was 79% in favor of the proposal and 21% against.
The agreement runs through the end of 2014 and governs nearly 9,000 locomotive engineers who operate Union Pacific freight trains over its 31,900-mile, 23-state route system.
BLET National President Dennis R. Pierce thanked BLET members for participating in the voting process.
“I am proud of our Union Pacific members for a better than 50% turnout because our Brotherhood’s voice is louder with each additional member who speaks,” said President Pierce.
He also thanked the negotiating team for their hard work at the bargaining table, including: Union Pacific General Chairmen Jim Dayton (Western Region), Warren Dent (Southern Region), Bill Hannah (Western Lines), Bruce MacArthur (Northern Region), Ronnie Rhodes (Central Region), and Mike Young (Eastern District); National Vice President Mike Twombly; and First Vice President Lee Pruitt.