FORT WORTH, Texas — The members of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers have voted to ratify a new five-year collective bargaining agreement with BNSF Railway.
“This achievement, following on ratified agreements with many of our other union partners, underscores our commitment to ensure continued exceptional service for our customers,” BNSF CEO Katie Farmer said in a prepared statement yesterday. “Our success as a railroad is built upon the collaboration and mutual respect of our hard-working railroaders, and we look forward to taking this next step forward together.”
The tentative agreement provides a 3.5% average wage increase per year over the next five years. It also offers railroaders more vacation earlier in their career and meaningful enhancements to an already robust suite of health care benefits.
Roughly 20% of the BNSF workforce is now covered under similar ratified labor agreements.
“We are pleased to announce the tentative agreement, signed in October between the IBEW and BNSF has been ratified by a strong majority. The improvements to the contract are historical in nature as it didn’t require any recommendation from a PEB and was settled prior to the end of the previous contract, said IBEW General Chairman Jeff Alred. “We look forward to working with BNSF in the future.”
BNSF has also reached ratified agreements with members of The International Brotherhood of Boilermakers (IBB), The National Conference of Firemen and Oilers (NCFO), The International Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation (SMART) Railroad, Mechanical and Engineering Department (MD), The American Trains Dispatchers Association (ATDA), The Transportation and Communications Union (TCU) and Brotherhood Railway Carmen (BRC).
