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9/12/2023
Contract ratification votes are underway for Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET) members at the Portland & Western Railroad (PNWR) and Missouri & Northern Arkansas Railroad (M&NA), both owned by Genesee & Wyoming Inc.
Ballots have been mailed to about 50 PNWR and 60 M&NA operating employees to vote on tentative agreements governing rates of pay, benefits and work rules.
A tentative five-year pact at the PNWR would run through Dec. 31, 2028, and provide general wage increases of 19.5% (21% compounded) over the contract's life (3% in 2024; 3% in 2025, 3.5% in 2026, 6% in 2027 and 4% in 2028). A tentative five-year agreement at M&NA would run through Dec. 31, 2028, and provide general wage increases of 25% (27.5% compounded) over the period (6% in 2024; 3% in 2025, 3% in 2026, 5% in 2027 and 8% in 2028).
The PNWR agreement would include the addition of Martin Luther King Day as an 11th holiday, one extra personal leave day and one additional day of vacation, and an increase in training pay. Contractual changes under the tentative M&NA contract would enable members to cash out up to 40 hours of scheduled vacation each calendar year.
PNWR operates 516 miles of track and interchanges with BNSF Railway Co. and Union Pacific Railroad; M&NA operates 490 miles of track and interchanges with BNSF, Canadian Pacific Kansas City and UP.