CSX has reached contract agreements with three of its unions, four months before their existing contracts faced a key date under the Federal Railway Act.
The eastern-focused Class I railroad, in a move a spokesman for the company called “unprecedented,” said the workers covered by the new contracts represent about 25% of CSX’ unionized workforce.
The deals are being announced while Canadian Class I railroads are looking at a strike and come about two years after the U.S. railroads had a near-strike experience that was averted in September 2022.
The contracts are for five-year terms. They cover workers with the Transportation Communications Union, the Brotherhood of Railway Carmen and the General Committee of Adjustment GO-049 of the International Association of Sheet Metal, Rail and Transportation Workers-Transportation Division, known as SMART-TD.
In a statement, CSX (NYSE: CSX) president and CEO Joe Hinrichs called the deals “historic.”
“I want to recognize the labor leaders who have stepped up to serve the best interests of their members and our employees in getting these historic deals done well in advance of their contracts even coming open for negotiation,” Henrichs said in the statement.
Existing contracts were to “become amendable” in four months, according to CSX.
As a Bloomberg Law article on the Federal Railway Labor Act described it, contracts under the Act do not expire but “become amendable if a party serves a timely notice to change the terms of the agreement” under processes spelled out in the Act. “Following the amendable date, the parties must maintain the terms of the agreement until a new agreement is reached,” the Bloomberg Law article said.
CSX said the terms of the contracts call for average wage increases of 3.5% per year and “improvements” in paid vacation and health care.
The agreements need to be ratified by the unions. CSX said it would share additional details on the terms of the contracts as the ratification process moves forward.
The Hinrichs statement said the company had “reached out to our other labor partners and look forward to promptly reaching agreements for all CSX union employees patterned on these same terms.”
Two separate spokesmen for CSX noted to FreightWaves the term “One CSX,” which Hinrichs mentioned in his statement.
“ONE CSX culture and values aren’t just words, they are our collective path forward to an improved experience for both our employees and customers,” Hinrichs said.
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