The National Carriers’ Conference Committee (NCCC) in USA announces that the nation’s freight railroads have reached a tentative agreement with the National Conference of Firemen & Oilers, SEIU. In total, eight unions have now accepted tentative deals that they will be taking to their membership for ratification.
The tentative agreement includes a 24% wage increase during the five-year period from 2020 through 2024 — with a 14.1% wage increase effective immediately — and five annual $1,000 lump sum payments. Portions of the wage increases and lump sum payments are retroactive and will be paid out promptly upon ratification of the agreements by the union’s membership.
It is critical that the remaining unions promptly reach agreements that provide pay increases to employees and prevent rail service disruptions. The carriers are in active discussions with the remaining unions about finalizing agreements based on the PEB’s recommendation. However, the two operating craft unions, BLET and SMART-TD, continue to maintain positions that were expressly rejected by the PEB.
Under the Railway Labor Act, the carriers and the unions that have not reached agreements remain in a “cooling off” period. Voluntary settlements with all unions would avert any potential disruptions to rail service after the cooling off period ends at 12:01 a.m. on September 16.
Last Friday, September 9, several major US Class 1 railroads announced that they would begin curtailing shipments of hazardous materials and other chemicals in event the loads could be left unattended on a rail network due to a strike action.
