SMART division-represented workers ratify Chicago Rail Link pact

Chicago Rail Link L.L.C. trainmen and engineers represented by the SMART Transportation Division have ratified a new six-year agreement.

The contract provides annual wage increases with full back pay, retroactive to Oct. 1, 2010; limits employee health and welfare contributions rates; freezes co-pays and deductibles for the life of the agreement; and improves working conditions, SMART Transportation Division officials said in a press release.

Union officers spent the past three-and-a-half years negotiating an agreement, they said.

Owned by OmniTRAX Inc., Chicago Rail Link provides switching and terminal services, and operates 72 miles of track through the Chicago terminal complex. The short line serves the Port of Chicago and CSX Corp.'s Bedford Park, Ill., intermodal facility, and provides rail-car storage services to Chicago Freight Car Leasing Co. and Helm Financial Corp.