Roughly 100 onboard attendants employed by the for-profit passenger rail line Brightline in Florida voted to unionize with the Transport Workers Union on Wednesday. Their action is a push to address safety issues and fight for higher pay and better job benefits, including improved sick leave.
It’s the first union formed by Brightline workers in the state of Florida, and the largest newly organized group of railroad workers nationwide in over 20 years, according to TWU.
Although an official vote tally wasn’t immediately shared by the union — and the National Mediation Board declined to comment — a statement from the union notes that workers voted in favor of unionization by a roughly two-to-one margin…