Rail labor agreements are reached, says National Railway Labor Conference

Labor accord on United States railroads has been reached, with the National Railway Labor Conference announcing today that U.S.-based major freight railroads have come to tentative agreements.

The agreements, which cover more than 31,000 employees and are subject to membership ratification, have been reached 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 NRLC said these contracts cover wages, benefits, and other issue, adding that The Transport Workers Union, which represents a limited number of employees in this bargaining, is also a party to these agreements. 

And it added that U.S. railroads have now reached agreements with unions covering 116,000 employees, or about 80% 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
• the International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers ─ Transportation Division including Yardmasters

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