Midnight deadline for Wabtec negotiations with union workforce arrives with no agreement

A deadline of midnight Friday, which followed six weeks of talks between Wabtec Corp. and its union workforce in Erie, ended with an agreement to talk a bit more.

Shortly after midnight, Wabtec posted on its negotiations website that talks would resume Saturday at 10 a.m.

According to the post: "The parties worked with the Federal Mediator today to resolve our differences before contract expiration. Although the parties made significant progress in doing so, the parties agreed to briefly extend the current CBA to provide additional time for negotiations."

Tim Bader, a spokesman for the company, said discussions will continue at least through Saturday.

More: Wabtec-union negotiations set to begin; both sides hopeful about talks

Wabtec, which purchased the former GE Transportation in February of 2019, has been negotiating since April 27 with the United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America, which represents more than 1,400 workers in Erie.

The first contract between the two parties, a four-year agreement, was reached only after a nine-day strike that began almost immediately after the purchase of GE Transportation was finalized.

More: PA’s future rail system is cleaner, safer, and could create 1000s of jobs in Erie at Wabtec

Both the Pittsburgh-based Fortune 500 company and the union have said they hoped for a different outcome this time around.

Prior to 2019, the last large-scale strike at the Erie locomotive plant took place in 1969 when 6,800 union members in Erie participated in a national strike against General Electric that involved more than 150,000 workers and stretched across 102 days.

Third party joins talks

Hoping to meet Friday's deadline, Wabtec and the UE began meeting with the assistance of a federal mediator Thursday and again on Friday.

The two parties had the option of extending the deadline. It's happened before.

But there was every indication that both sides were taking the midnight deadline seriously.

According to a post Monday on the UE 506 website, members have overwhelmingly agreed to "authorize their executive boards to take whatever action is necessary, up to and including a strike, if no tentative agreement is reached by midnight June 9th, 2023."

During an interview before negotiations began, Scott Slawson, president of UE Local 506, had been clear that a strike wasn't the result he was looking for.

"I am hoping for a very productive negotiation," Slawson said in an April 21 interview. "We would never enter into negotiations with the intent of a lockout or strike. If you think that is what is going to happen, you are approaching it all wrong."

At the same time, Slawson has said repeatedly that the option of withholding labor was not off the table.

As of Thursday, the two parties remained far apart on some important issues.

Points of contention

The company wanted to retain a progressive wage scale that called for new employees to see their wages climb over 10 years to match those of legacy employees. The union, meanwhile, proposed starting new workers at 80% of full scale and giving them 5% raises every six month.

As of Thursday, significant difference remained on other economic issues.

Wabtec, which had proposed a three-year contract that included two 2% raises and two lump-sum payments of $1,500 during the life of a three-year agreement, agreed Wednesday to improve its offer with a $1 an hour raise on ratification of the contract.

Meanwhile, the union continued to call for a combination of general wage increases and cost-of-living increases, tied to the consumer price index, over a four-year agreement.

The union was asking asking for an 11% raise in the first year, followed by three increases of 6% each.

In an update posted to its website on Thursday, the union continued to highlight its displeasure over negotiating with lawyers for the company instead of managers from Wabtec.

According to the post on the UE website, "The union and the company have two days left to bargain before the end of the contract, yet the company still has nobody at the table that can make a decision on behalf of the company."

Another post on the UE 506 website late Friday afternoon pointed to simmering frustrations as the union raised concerns about a handful of issues including the claim that nine union members in the final assembly building had been suspended for three weeks.

The union said that while it has bargaining in good faith, "the company has done everything to raise the temperature in the plant."

The post continued: "This is a typical union busting tactic. It seems like the company wants us to be on strike rather than come to a resolution that benefits both the union and the company."

Talks, which are being held in Erie, will pick up Saturday morning.

Contact Jim Martin at jmartin@timesnews.com.

This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Wabtec and union workers in Erie agree to extend talks a bit longer