WASHINGTON — Onboard attendants at Brightline have voted to join the Transport Workers Union, the union announced Tuesday (Jan. 14, 2025).
Mail-in voting concluded Tuesday after beginning on Nov. 27, 2024. The approximately 100 workers who sell food and beverages onboard trains and provide other services between Orlando and Miami voted in favor of unionization by a 2-1 margin, the union said.
TWU President John Samuelsen charged in a press release that the company ran “an aggressive anti-union campaign,” but said, “let’s put that behind us. We’re committed to working to ensure the railroad is successful while helping our newest members secure better wages, better working conditions, respect in the workplace, and other goals that they set.”
The union will now help the workers form a negotiating committee to work on drawing up the first contract with Brightline.
Remember, the squeaky wheel gets replaced first.