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Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and United Transportation Union Sept. 13 extended by 72 hours the deadline for receiving merger ballots from both unions' members due to domestic and international mail and courier service interruptions caused by Tuesday's terrorist actions.

The original deadline was noon EDT Sept. 14; the new voting deadline is noon EDT Sept. 17.

Union officials opted to extend the deadline "to ensure that no member is denied the opportunity to cast a ballot due to this situation, which is beyond our control," said BLE International President Edward Dubroski and UTU International President Byron Boyd Jr. in a joint prepared statement.

The unions had planned to announce the vote count sometime Sept. 17, following the outcome of a hearing in U.S. Court for the Northern District of Ohio brought on by a lawsuit filed by three BLE members seeking to block the proposed-merger vote; officials now expect to release a vote count by mid-week.