Largest railroad union rejects labor deal, raising risk of a crippling strike

Rank-and-file members of the nation’s largest rail union, which represents the industry’s conductors, rejected a tentative labor deal with freight railroads, the union announced Today. That significantly raises the chance that major freight railroads crucial to the nation’s economy could be brought to a halt by a strike early next month.

The nation’s second-largest rail union, which represents engineers, ratified its own contract. But the failure of the conductors to ratify their own deal is another setback to efforts to avoid a crippling nationwide rail strike.

If the tentative agreements aren't ratified, they will go back for a revised deal with a December deadline.