NECR's MOW workers ratify first labor pact

New England Central Railroad's (NECR) maintenance of way employees ratified their first contract as part of the Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employes Division's (BMWED) Northeastern System Federation, the union announced yesterday.

The 20-person MOW department voted to join the BMWED earlier this year. The new agreement runs retroactively from July 1, 2017, through 2022, according to a BMWED press release.

The contract includes 18 percent gross wage increases over the 5.5-year term, overtime pay over 40 hours per week and a minimum three hours overtime on calls outside regularly assigned hours, union officials said.

In addition, the agreement provides schedule stabilization, hours of work, seniority, preference for overtime work and improvements in away-from-home expenses, they said.