Recent rail union news:
— Amtrak dining car stewards represented by the International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers-Transportation Division (SMART-TD) unanimously ratified a new agreement, retroactive to July 1, 2022 and running through Dec. 1, 2028, that will provide a compounded raise of 40.21% over the life of the contract. Other aspects of the deal include addition of Martin Luther King Jr. Day as a paid holiday, 10 weeks of paid parental leave, increased meal allowances, and maintaining of health and welfare benefits with a modestly increased cost for workers.
— Members of Canadian union Unifor at Toronto Terminals Railway have unanimously ratified a new four-year agreement, the union announced. The more than 30 TTR workers represented by the union provide track maintenance, flagging, and signal work along the Toronto Union Station Corridor, jointly owned by Canadian National and CPKC. The union said the agreement provides improvements to wages, benefits, and working conditions, but specific terms were not announced.
— The Connecticut Southern Railroad became the second Genesee & Wyoming property in two weeks to join SMART-TD, electing to join with a “near unanimous” vote, the union says. The 15 employees in train and engine service provide freight service on Amtrak’s main line between New Haven, Conn. and Springfield, Mass., as well as branches out of Hartford and Windsor Locks, Conn. They were previously covered under an umbrella agreement with the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen. The 3-mile Wilmington Terminal Railroad at the Port of Wilmington, N.C. joined the union earlier in the month.
I didn’t realize that Amtrak had a “dining car steward” job category, only “service attendant” (may not be the exact wording) or “lead service attendant.” I thought the “steward” job title applied only in the old days. Can someone elaborate?