Train dispatchers vote to ratify contract with freight carriers

The American Train Dispatchers Association (ATDA) announced Monday that a majority of its members voted to ratify the national mediated collective bargaining agreement negotiated by the Coordinated Bargaining Group (CBG).

Nearly two-thirds, or 62 percent, of its members voted for ratification, according to an ATDA news release.

The ATDA's bargaining team — President Leo McCann, Secretary-Treasurer Ed Dowell and Vice President Rory Broyles — reached a tentative agreement with the nation's freight-rail carriers on Oct. 6, following more than 2.5 years of bargaining.

ATDA members who ratified the contract work for Belt Railway Co. of Chicago, BNSF Railway Co., Conrail, CSX, Indiana Harbor Belt, Kansas City Southern, Norfolk Southern Railway and Wisconsin Central Ltd.

In addition to ATDA, the CBG represents the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET), a division of the Rail Conference of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters; the Brotherhood of Railroad Signalmen (BRS); the International Brotherhood of Boilermakers, Iron Ship Builders, Blacksmiths, Forgers, and Helpers; the National Conference of Firemen and Oilers/SEIU; and the Transportation Division of the International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers (SMART TD).