The Brotherhood was victorious in another claim protecting flagging work from outside contractor RailPros.

Nearly four years after the original violation, a neutral mediator sustained our claim that Amtrak was in violation of the CBA when it assigned flagging work around the Old Post Office station in Chicago to RailPros instead of BMWED Amtrak qualified flagmen.

The victory on Amtrak is similar to a prior win on Union Pacific for the same violation. In both cases, the neutral sided with the BMWED, recognizing that the railroad needed qualified flaggers and had no right under the CBA to assign outside RailPros contractors to handle that work.

“We are vindicated in this award and I am happy that Amtrak has been rightfully punished for violating the agreement,” United Passenger Rail Federation General Chairman Anthony Sessa said. “I thank National Division and the Arbitration Department for their diligence and hard work on this case. I thank the members in Chicago who filed the claim and enforced the agreement. This is a great victory.”