There are faint but growing signs of hope for labor peace for freight railroads, says The Wall Street Journal. Members of a labor union for machinists approved an agreement on wages and work conditions with the big operators, after rejecting an earlier proposal.
The approval by the machinists came by a narrow margin, and that may only partly ease concerns that the two big unions that haven’t ratified the agreement won't get their thousands of members on board. Those unions are still voting and are expected to announce results around November 21.
Shipper groups have called for the White House to broker another deal between the two sides if needed to prevent rail-service disruptions. The White House says the onus is on the companies and unions to negotiate an agreement.
The unions have agreed to standstill agreements that would delay any strike until other unions have cast their votes.
