March 25, 2025
The Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employees Division (BMWED-IBT) union members working for rails carriers represented by the National Carriers' Conference Committee (NCCC) have ratified the tentative agreement reached in January.
The biggest rail carrier bargaining with the NCCC was BNSF. BMWED members on that property ratified the agreement, the vote tally as follows:
The five-year Tentative Agreement, covering the period from January 1, 2025, to July 1, 2029, ensures BMWED members 18.77 percent compounded wage growth over the next five years, protects health and welfare benefits without additional cost, and improves vacation accrual timing, amongst other gains.
BMWED members on the smaller railroads, including the Belt Railway of Chicago; Bessemer and Lake Erie; Grand Trunk Western Railway; Illinois Central; Wisconsin Central; Central California Traction Company; Conrail; Indiana Harbor Belt; Los Angeles Junction; Portland Terminal; Wichita Terminal Association; Port Terminal Railroad Association; and New Orleans Public Belt, ratified their agreement by a roughly 74 percent to 26 percent margin.
Source: BMWED