After a three-day strike and years of ongoing contract negotiations, members of the BLET overwhelmingly ratified a new contract with the Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) this week. The vote was 98 percent in favor of ratification.
The BLET bargained as part of a coalition of five labor unions representing 3,500 workers, a majority of the unionized workforce at LIRR. Negotiations included mediated sessions before the National Mediation Board as well as the appointment of two Presidential Emergency Boards (PEBs).
“We went three years without raises and negotiated in good faith. We negotiated to the buzzer,” said BLET LIRR General Chairman Gil Lang, speaking about the strike to delegates at the International Brotherhood of Teamsters 31st International Convention earlier this week. “I knew we were making history from the second the strike started. We were joined on the picket lines by our brothers and sisters in the BLET and the entire Teamsters Union. It was an incredible display of unity and solidarity. After three long days, the railroad finally met our demands. In my 26 years at the Long Island Rail Road, I’ve never experienced anything like that strike.”
Lang said this major victory on behalf of the LIRR membership was due in part to the guidance and resources provided by the Teamsters, the Rail Conference, and the BLET National Division. Lang also thanked the LIRR membership for their solidarity and perseverance during the bargaining process.
Negotiations on behalf of BLET were led by Vice President Kevin Sexton and General Chairman Lang, as well as Vice President Jim Louis. Prior to last month’s strike, the last strike at LIRR occurred in 1987. There were no concessions in the new agreement, which provides general wage increases while protecting existing work rules for BLET locomotive engineers.
The coalition of five LIRR rail unions includes the BLET, the Brotherhood of Railroad Signalmen (BRS), the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAMAW), the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW), and the Transportation Communications Union (TCU). BLET is the last of the five unions to ratify the agreement.