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11/1/2021
The Transportation Division of the International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers (SMART-TD) and the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET) have responded to the suit Norfolk Southern Railway (NS) filed against them on Oct. 21 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Chicago Division.
The two unions responded to NS’s claims, and filed counterclaims challenging the Class I’s actions in implementing its vaccine policy. The unions claim a mandatory vaccine must be negotiated under the Railway Labor Act.
NS last month filed a lawsuit in an attempt to stop several labor unions from suing over the Class I’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate.
NS filed a petition in federal court claiming the unions’ objections to the vaccine requirement must be brought in arbitration and not in court.
NS's action follows that of Union Pacific Railroad, which on Oct. 15 filed a lawsuit in federal court after receiving communications from three unions protesting Class I's vaccination mandate.