President of largest rail union predicts congressional intervention after ‘no’ vote

The president of the largest freight rail union is skeptical he’ll be able to reach a new agreement with carriers in time to prevent an economically devastating strike — and predicts Congress will likely soon step in.

“I’m hopeful, but I doubt it’s really in the cards,” SMART Transportation Division President Jeremy Ferguson said in an interview Monday night. “I’ve got a lot of issues that are outstanding; that are reasons why our guys voted it down.”

SMART-TD, which represents nearly 40,000, or 3 in 10, freight rail workers, announced...