The International Brotherhood of Boilermakers voted to reject the railroad labor agreement spearheaded by the Biden administration on Monday — another huge blow to the White House's September deal.
In joining the Brotherhood of Railroad Signalmen and the Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employes District, the union became the third member of the 12-union panel to reject the tentative agreement.
According to Axios, the group does not plan to strike until at least Dec. 9.
The IBB said it "fully expects to continue negotiating further toward a satisfactory contract" with railroad management, a brief statement read. Meanwhile, the National Carriers' Conference Committee, which represents management, said it was "disappointed" by the decision.
"This result will delay the benefits of the tentative agreement for IBB-represented employees, including an immediate 14.1% wage increase and substantial retroactive and lump sum payouts," the NCCC argued of the group, which represents around 300 employees.
The IBB is the smallest of the three groups to reject the bargained plan. The Maintenance of Way Employees, which operate under the Teamsters, support roughly 23,000 track maintenance workers. The Signalmen are close to 6,000 strong.
The three groups have warned against further federal government involvement in negotiations, a stark rebuke to Labor Secretary Marty Walsh. Earlier this month, Walsh suggested that Congress would "take action to avert a strike," if that point arrived.
"Congress should not have to intervene. The railroads should provide paid sick leave to its employees," the Maintenance of Way Employees responded to Walsh.
"They have the money to do it, and it literally would cost them a penny of every dollar of record profits to provide it," the group continued. "It’s only 2% of what CSX, NS[,] and UP spent so far this year in stock buybacks. It’s literally nothing to them, yet they refuse to provide it."
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