rail union

BNSF and train conductors union reach work scheduling deal

Western U.S. Class I railroad BNSF and the union representing train conductors have reached a systemwide agreement on work scheduling.

BNSF (NYSE: BRK-B) said the agreement with the International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers, Transportation Division (SMART-TD) “goes well beyond” the mandatory local bargaining items recommended by the Presidential Emergency Board, a three-member independent panel brought in last summer by President Joe Biden and the unions when...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/bnsf-and-train-conductors-union-reach-work-scheduling-deal

Maintenance-of-way union sues BNSF over workforce shortages

The union representing maintenance-of-way (MOW) workers at BNSF is suing the railway for using contractors and not growing the ranks of MOW employees, according to a statement from the Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way – Employes Division (BMWED).

The lawsuit is meant “to combat the carrier’s bad faith in dealing with the Union by its depletion of its Maintenance of Way workforce and its blatant disregard of contractual obligations intended to protect our members and their work,” BMWED said in a...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/maintenance-of-way-union-sues-bnsf-over-workforce-shortages

Rail firefighters and oilers vote to ratify labor agreement

Members of the National Conference of Firemen & Oilers (NCFO) have voted by a 58.7% margin to ratify their labor contract with U.S. freight railroads.

The agreement calls for the highest wage increase in 48 years, five annual service recognition payments, an additional paid day off and enhanced autism health care benefits, according to NCFO President Dean Devita. The agreement also calls for increasing a maximum hearing benefit from $600 to $2,000, a 22% wage increase and retroactive pay within...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/rail-firefighters-and-oilers-vote-to-ratify-labor-agreement

54% of SMART members vote in favor of ratifying rail contract

A man wearing a hard hat and gloves stands by a rail track while talking on a mobile phone.

The International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers (SMART) said 54% of the members of its mechanical and engineering division have voted in favor of ratifying a labor agreement between the union and U.S. freight railroads.

SMART said the contract includes “historic” wage increases, five annual service recognition payments, an additional day off and enhanced health care benefits, as well as a 13.5% wage increase, retroactive pay and $3,000 in service recognition...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/54-of-smart-members-vote-in-favor-of-ratifying-rail-contract

Train dispatchers union ratifies labor agreement

Members of the American Train Dispatchers Association (ATDA) have ratified the labor contract with the freight railroads, joining three other unions that have already done so.

The new labor deal covers those working on the Belt Railway of Chicago, BNSF (NYSE: BRK.B), Conrail, CSX (NASDAQ: CSX), Indiana Harbor Belt, Kansas City Southern, Norfolk Southern (NYSE: NSC), Terminal Railroad Association of St. Louis and CN (NYSE: CNI) subsidiary Wisconsin Central. 

The contract calls for a 14.1% pay...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/train-dispatchers-union-ratifies-labor-agreement

PEB provides wage increase guidance to railroads, unions

A man inspects a railcar carrying an intermodal container.

The Presidential Emergency Board has given the White House and stakeholders a 124-page report listing recommendations on how the freight railroads and unions can work toward a new labor agreement.

The report’s guidance could be used to serve as a foundation for a labor contract between the freight railroads and their unions.

A new labor deal has been in the works since January 2020, but the negotiations have failed to progress. A federal mediation board took up the negotiations but released the...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/peb-provides-wage-increase-guidance-to-railroads-unions

Rail and port labor issues adding to supply chain misery, expert says

The struggle by the freight railroads and their unions to reach consensus on a labor agreement comes at a time when it is already anyone’s guess how existing challenges in the supply chain will play out over the next several months, according to Ashley Craig, an attorney with Washington law firm Venable.

For starters, there are rail service issues, as well as lingering supply chain impacts from the COVID-19 pandemic, according to Craig, who co-chairs Venable’s international trade group....

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/rail-and-port-labor-issues-adding-to-supply-chain-misery-expert-says

Biden creates emergency panel to stave off rail worker strike

President Joe Biden on Friday signed an executive order to establish an emergency board to handle an ongoing dispute between freight railroads and their unions over a new labor contract.

The board’s formation averts a potential strike by union members on Monday. 

The railroads and their unions have been embroiled in a contract dispute since January 2020, with wages and health care benefits being major sticking points. The National Mediation Board (NMB), an independent federal agency that mediates...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/breaking-biden-creates-board-to-work-through-rail-labor-contract-dispute

Rail union urgest senators to revise common carrier obligation

The Transportation Trades Department is asking Congressional senators to consider revising the common carrier obligation so its meaning is more clear and enforceable.

The common carrier obligation defines the freight railroads’ role in delivering bulk goods, and the Surface Transportation Board uses it as a basis in rendering decisions. 

“It is clear that the major U.S. freight railroads are failing to meet their statutory ‘common carrier’ obligation to provide freight rail customers with...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/rail-union-urgest-senators-to-revise-common-carrier-obligation

CN confirms IBEW members are on strike

Canadian railway CN says operations are continuing after members of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) went on strike Saturday.

CN (NYSE: CNI) has deployed a contingency plan that allows it to maintain a normal level of safe rail operations across Canada and serve its customers for as long as required, the railway said Monday.

“While the company is disappointed with the current situation, CN remains committed to finding a resolution and it continues to encourage the IBEW...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/cn-confirms-ibew-members-are-on-strike

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