Ballots Mailed to BLET Members in Tentative Metra, UP Implementing Agreement

According to BLET, UP has provided operating crews to Metra since its purchase of the former Chicago & NorthWestern Railroad in the mid-1990s, but UP has “sought to hand off the commuter operations for some time now.” The new operating entity is known as the Northeast Illinois Regional Commuter Railroad Corporation (NIRCRC).

The tentative implementing agreement was handled by the office of BLET General Chairman Dick Crow, UP-Northern Region GCA and governs BLET members with engineer seniority in Divisions 96, 176, 404, 405, 683, and 848. The tentative implementing agreement, memorandum of understanding, vacation agreement, flowback agreement, and additional information are detailed in the ratification packet that was mailed earlier this week, the union noted.

Ballots are due by Tuesday, Oct. 8, at 3 p.m. EDT.