Second freight rail labor pact reached

Written by Railway Age Staff
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Major U.S. freight railroads have reached a tentative contract agreement with the second of three coalitions representing unionized employees.

The National Railway Labor Conference representing employers announced that it had reached agreement with Brotherhood Railway Carmen (BRC), the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM), the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW), and the Transportation Communications Union (TCU).

The new agreements cover wages, benefits and other issues for more than 31,000 employees and are subject to membership ratification. The Transport Workers Union, which represents a limited number of employees in this bargaining, is also a party to these agreements.

The railroads have now reached agreements with unions covering 116,000 employees, or 80% percent of the 145,000 employees in this bargaining round. The following unions, which represent 81,000 employees in the bargaining, have already ratified their agreements with the railroads: American Train Dispatchers Association; Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers & Trainmen; Brotherhood of Railroad Signalmen, and International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers ─ Transportation Division including Yardmasters.

Contracts are still to be worked out with the third labor coalition consisting of the Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employes, and the International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers representing the final 20% of affected unionized rail workers.

“These new agreements, which follow the terms established in the earlier agreements, bring us closer to the resolution of negotiations with all the unions,” said A. Kenneth Gradia, Chairman of the National Carriers’ Conference Committee (NCCC), the railroads’ bargaining representative.

The NCCC represents more than 30 railroads, including BNSF, CSX Transportation, Kansas City Southern, Norfolk Southern and Union Pacific, in national bargaining with 12 rail unions. Bargaining began in 2015.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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