A worker rides a rail car at a BNSF rail crossing in Saginaw, Texas, on Wednesday. Business and government officials are preparing for a potential nationwide rail strike at the end of this week while talks carry on between the largest U.S. freight railroads and their unions.
“It’s just another instance of what we’re seeing all over the country of workers coming together, and when they exercise their power, they actually win,” said Texas AFL-CIO president Rick Levy. “Which is why I think we’re seeing so much labor activity and the labor scene is so positively in the public eye these days.”
“For the first time, our unions were able to obtain negotiated contract language exempting time off for certain medical events from carrier attendance policies. Our unions will now begin the process of submitting the tentative agreement to the rank and file for a ratification vote by the memberships of both unions,” the groups said.