WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — About 100 Brightline employees will join the Transport Workers Union (TWU) following a vote with the National Mediation Board last month.
In a news release after the Jan. 14 vote, the Transport Workers Union of America said, "this is the largest newly organized group of railroad workers nationwide in over 20 years."
Documents from the National Mediation Board, the government agency that facilitates agreements between labor and management for railroads and airlines, shows workers have waited more than a year for the vote.
The union said these workers are people who provide food and drink service while working on passenger concerns on the train.
"This is an enormous victory," Transport Workers Union International President John Samuelsen said in the news release.
Documents from the National Mediation Board show that of the 83 eligible employees, 47 people voted in the election. Thirty of those 47 people voted to join the TWU.
Attorneys for the Transport Workers Union of America filed a federal lawsuit in the Southern District of Florida on Wednesday.
The suit claims the company sent dates to the union to negotiate rates of pay, rules and working conditions. However, attorneys allege Brightline is operating in bad faith because Brightline has legal action trying to block the decision from the National Mediation Board.
WPTV reached out to the company earlier on Thursday and is still working to get an answer from the company about the most recent suit.
