Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET) members recently ratified an agreement related to Metra’s takeover of services from Union Pacific (UP). Ballots were mailed to 307 members last month.
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.” A new operating entity known as the Northeast Illinois Regional Commuter Railroad Corporation (NIRCRC) will handle those operations. The newly ratified implementing agreement governs vacation, flowback, and additional provisions for BLET members working for the new NIRCRC.
The office of BLET General Chairman Dick Crow, Union Pacific-Northern Region GCA, handled negotiations, which will cover BLET members with engineer seniority in Divisions 96, 176, 405, 405, 683 and 848.
