BLET contract ratifications include contracts covering employees of the MTA Long Island Railroad, with the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers reporting 98% support among voting members.

Metra train in downtown Chicago
Archive photo of a Metra train in downtown Chicago. Photo: amtrak_russ / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY 2.0

LIRR employees approve contracts with MTA

The agreements were reached with the Metropolitan Transportation Authority after a prolonged bargaining process⁠. BLET was part of a five-union coalition that began a three-day strike on May 16, following more than three years of unsuccessful negotiations with the MTA. The strike ended on May 19, when the unions and the authority reached a tentative agreement⁠.

The coalition’s other four unions had already approved their own agreements earlier this month. They were the Transportation Communications Union (TCU/IAM), the International Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) District 19, the Brotherhood of Railroad Signalmen and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers.

BLET contract ratifications also include Metra

BLET also reported a separate ratification by its members at the Northeast Illinois Regional Commuter Railroad Corp., known as Metra. That seven-year agreement covers about 250 locomotive engineers⁠ working for the Chicago-area commuter rail operator.

Long Island Rail Road M7 railcar at Farmingdale station
Archive photo of a Long Island Rail Road M7 railcar at Farmingdale station. Photo: Ad Meskens / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 3.0

Metra serves six counties in the Chicago region, operating 243 stations across 11 routes with almost 500 route miles. According to BLET officials, the contract includes revised compensation structures, work rules, seniority protections, assignment procedures, benefits, discipline standards and operational practices.

The Metra agreement was approved by 84% of voting BLET members.

For LIRR, the ratification followed negotiations involving a five-union coalition that BLET says represented 3,500 workers, a majority of the railroad’s unionized workforce. BLET also said the process included mediated sessions before the National Mediation Board and two Presidential Emergency Boards. For Metra, the separate agreement adds more specific labor terms: BLET says it provides compounded general wage increases of 35.42% through December 31, 2032, and adds Juneteenth as a recognized holiday.