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Yesterday, the Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employes Division (BMWED) and National Carriers’ Conference Committee (NCCC) reached a tentative agreement, the last pact to be settled between major U.S. railroads and rail labor union during the current round of national bargaining. The tentative agreement eliminates the threat of a national rail strike by BMWED members on Feb. 8, when a “cooling off” period was set to expire, NCCC officials said in a prepared statement.

The tentative pact, which is subject to membership ratification, settles all outstanding bargaining issues, BMWED officials said. The union represents more than 25,000 rail employees.

The NCCC — which bargains for more than 30 U.S. railroads, including the Class Is — now has reached agreements with all 13 unions involved in national bargaining, and 12 of the pacts have been ratified following an announcement yesterday that American Train Dispatchers Association and the Brotherhood of Railroad Signalmen members approved their contracts. The ratified agreements cover about 107,000 rail workers.

“These agreements demonstrate that voluntary bargaining continues to work in the rail industry,” said NCCC Chairman A. Kenneth Gradia. “The carriers and the unions, with the critical support of the National Mediation Board, have resolved their differences.”