German rail union threatens open-ended strikes over pay dispute

BERLIN (AP) — A German rail workers’ union says it will ask its members to vote on all-out strike action after long-running salary talks with the main national railway operator broke down. The EVG union has already staged hours-long or one-day “warning strikes,” a common tactic in German wage negotiations. But it’s now threatening to escalate to longer walkouts as its negotiations with state-owned Deutsche Bahn have reached a stalemate. The union’s leader said Thursday that authorization for open-ended strikes will require three quarters of all votes cast in the ballot that will take four to five weeks to be completed. He said that “warning strikes are still not ruled out” while the ballot is taking place.