BRS ratifies contract with Amtrak
Brotherhood of Railroad Signalmen members have ratified a seven-year contract with Amtrak, the union announced last week.
The agreement was reached after nearly 18 months of negotiations, BRS officials said in a press release. The contract calls for a general wage increase of 28.5% retroactive to last year (a 32.3% compounded increase over the term of the agreement), frozen monthly health and welfare cost-sharing portions, monthly cost-sharing decreases, and improvements in dental and medical insurance coverage.
Also, a paid time-off plan was negotiated to replace the existing national vacation agreement. The new plan provides for more time off with less years of service and an accrual method that permits employees to earn time off even if they don’t meet the 100-day threshold of the existing agreement, BRS officials said.
Additionally, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day will now become a paid holiday for BRS workers at Amtrak. Moreover, the agreement improves bereavement leave and establishes a parental leave rule that provides up to 10 weeks of paid time off that can be taken in two-week increments up to one year from a birth or adoption.