The tentative deal that averted a strike by rail freight workers takes the next step Thursday as participating unions begin voting on whether to accept it. There appears to be a backlash as some railway workers remain unhappy with working conditions. Some protested outside their workplaces on Wednesday. Walkouts erupted outside railroad yards across the country organized by a newly formed group of workers separate from the 12 unions that negotiated deals last week with major U.S. freight railroads. RAILWAYS VS. UNIONS: WHAT IS CONTINUITY AND WHY THE STRIKE THREAT IS NOT OVER A worker boards a locomotive at a BNSF train yard Wednesday, Sept. 14, 2022, in Kansas City, Kansas. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel/AP Newsroom) Protesters voiced their displeasure with the deals as unions try to explain the potential benefits they negotiated to their roughly 115,000 members ahead of a contract vote. The contract talks involved Union Pacific, Norfolk Southern, BNSF, CSX, Kansas City Southern and a number of other railroads, so the entire country would have been affected by a strike. Fears of a rail strike that could cripple any business that relies on railroads to deliver raw materials and finished goods prompted the Biden administration to jump into the middle of contract talks and urge both sides to reach a deal . Norfolk Southern locomotives move into the Conway Terminal in Conway, Pa., Thursday, Sept. 15, 2022. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar/AP Newsroom) RAILWAY STRIKE AVOIDED, BARGAIN AGREEMENT ACHIEVED Nearly a dozen BNSF workers rallied near Minot, North Dakota, on Wednesday with handmade signs that read “We demand more!!” and “We will not back down.” Another group of a half-dozen workers stood outside their construction site in Olathe, Kansas, with signs that read “Railroad Greed Drives Inflation” and “Greedy Railroads Hurt Nations’ Supply Chain.” A CSX freight train runs through a crossing in Homestead, Pa., Wednesday, Sept. 14, 2022. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar/AP Newsroom) Workers’ concerns about time off and the railways’ demanding attendance policies were at the center of the negotiations. In the five-year deal, the unions representing engineers and conductors secured a promise of three additional days of unpaid leave for workers to attend doctor’s appointments without penalty and improved day-off scheduling with 24 percent raises and a $5,000 bonus. AUTOMOTIVE, ENERGY AND AGRICULTURE AMONG INDUSTRIES HARDEST BY RAIL STRIKE Whether these concessions are enough to get workers to vote for these deals remains to be seen. Ticker Security Last change %UNP UNION PACIFIC CORP. 210.94 -0.98 -0.46%NSC NORFOLK SOUTHERN CORP. 226.81 -0.97 -0.43% Nine of the unions will count their votes at various times over the next two months. The two largest unions that have held out the longest are not expected to report the results of their votes until mid-November. CLICK HERE TO READ MORE ABOUT FOX BUSINESS That creates every possibility for a blowout beyond the midterm elections, which moderates the potential political impact of the talks for Biden and the Democrats. If either union rejects its contracts, Congress could be forced to step in. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
