Members ratify agreement with Louisiana and North West RR

SMART Transportation Division-represented members who work on the Louisiana and North West (LNW) Railroad recently ratified a new contract to run through 2023.
The agreement allows for a 3% raise, effective June 2019; a 3% raise in June 2020; and a 3% raise in June 2021. These will be followed by raises of 2.5% in June 2022 and 2.5% in June 2023.
Employees covered by the agreement also receive a $300 ratification bonus and back pay to be paid by the end of December.
The contract protects the status of certain employees, establishes Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday as a paid holiday starting next year and awards an additional week of vacation to employees who have served the carrier more than 20 years.
TD Vice President Chadrick Adams assisted General Chairperson Jess Kilgore of Local 781 (Shreveport, La.) in negotiating the successful agreement for GCA-LNW.
“This was a challenging process for our union,” Adams said. “But in the end we were able to get a contract that our members found to be to their satisfaction.”
A prior agreement failed in the ratification process earlier this year.
LNW, based in Homer, La., operates 62.6 miles from McNeil, Ark., to Gibsland, La., and is owned by Patriot Rail Corp.