(Reuters) -Locomotive engineers at Union Pacific voted to ratify a new five-year contract with the railroad operator, the BLET-Teamsters union said on Friday. Under the new contract, nearly 6,000 members represented by the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen, a division of the rail conference of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT), will earn raises of 18.8% over the life of the agreement. The contract also includes improved health and welfare benefits, the union said. Last week, the largest U.S. railroad union, SMART-TD, approved Union Pacific's $85 billion acquisition of Norfolk Southern, helping to advance a deal that had been expected to face resistance from unions and regulators. The deal will create the nation's first coast-to-coast freight rail operator and reshape the movement of goods from grains to autos across the country. The two companies are expected to file a formal merger application with the Surface Transportation Board, which oversees rail competition and service, by late October or by January 2026. (Reporting by Aatreyee Dasgupta in Bengaluru; Editing by Tasim Zahid)
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