United States of America - Signalmen represented by the Brotherhood of Railroad Signalmen (BRS) and employed at Canadian Pacific's (CP) Soo Line Railroad (SOO) have ratified a new six year contract, the union announced yesterday.
 
The agreement, which takes effect 1 Jul 2018 provides six general wage increases, BRS officials said in a statement posted on the union's website.
 
The first increase is 2 percent retroactive to 1 Jan 2016, the second is 2 percent and retroactive to 1 Aug 2017, the third is 2 percent and becomes effective 1 Aug 2018, and the fourth is 2 percent and becomes effective 1 Aug 2019.
 
The fifth general wage increase is 2 percent and becomes effective 1 Aug 2020, and the sixth is 2 percent and takes effect 1 Aug 2021.
 
Also, the agreement calls for possible additional general wage increases of up to 1 percent for 2020 and 2021.
 
Those increases would be triggered by the company's year-over-year revenue ton mileage metric performance.
 
Moreover, the agreement, which covers 104 signalmen, amends several work rules.
 
The BRS members on the SOO were the only employees working for a Class I that were not a party to national contract negotiations between the National Carriers' Conference Committee (NCCC) and the BRS.
 
However, the SOO elected to stand-by for the Railroad Employees National Health and Welfare Plan.
 
Subsequently, all Railroad Employees National Health and Welfare Plan changes that were hammered out between the NCCC and the BRS were adopted by the parties to this agreement, BRS officials said.
 
Author unknown.