rail labor

The Federal Railroad Administration has lowered the gates on railroads looking to move to one-person crews.

What are stakeholders in the freight rail space keeping an eye on in 2024? Here’s a starter list.

Calls to remove Surface Transportation Board Chairman Marty Oberman are misguided in light of regulatory efforts that Oberman and the current board have undertaken, labor groups tell President Joe Biden.

CPKC seeks to extend or make permanent a waiver that allows the railway to dispatch trains for three locations at its Calgary office.

A federal court in Canada sided with union members and determined that Canadian Pacific had failed to adequately limit the number of hours that train crews worked in a number of instances in 2018 and 2019.

Technology might not be the only thing causing the freight rail industry to pivot. The industry’s relationships with its workforce and its customers might also be transitioning, suggested some speakers at the North American Rail Shippers conference.

Surface Transportation Board Chair Marty Oberman at a national rail shippers conference urged the railroads to increase their employee levels as a way to improve rail service.

BNSF is offering additional sick leave days to some members allifated with SMART-TD.

Union Pacific and the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen have struck a deal that addresses how train engineers might have a better work-life balance.

NS employees received a letter signed by President and CEO Alan Shaw and the presidents of 12 unions pledging collaboration to improve rail safety.

The unions blast the Class I railroads’ public statements on the railroads’ efforts to bolster employee head count in a filing to the Surface Transportation Board.

A hearing held by the U.S. House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee on freight rail supply chain challenges focused on a range of topics.

FreightWaves discussed with Railroad Workers United organizer Ron Kaminkow what craft union employees need from the railroads to improve morale.

Norfolk Southern plans to pursue other measures than furloughs to get through market downturns, and two activist investors press NS and Union Pacific to address paid sick leave.

Stakeholders are processing their responses to federal actions this week to avert a potential economy-crippling rail strike.

If a prolonged rail worker strike happens, expect cross-border commodities such as cars, auto parts and Mexican beer to be bogged down.

President Joe Biden is compelling Congress to intervene if there is a rail strike — and hinting that both sides should accept the labor agreement as it stands.

In a letter sent Monday to legislative leaders, trade groups warn of a financial disaster should a railroad strike occur on Dec. 9.

Is a rail strike imminent? Here are five things that might help you understand how we got here.

One railroad union has voted to ratify its labor agreement while another has split its vote, raising the prospect of a rail strike.

The International Brotherhood of Boilermakers’ refusal to ratify the latest deal sends the rail union back to the bargaining table.

Both the railroads and the Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way – Employes Division say the extension will help all parties make the best decision on how to proceed with the outstanding tentative labor agreements.

The rail division of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers will ratify the latest tentative labor agreement between itself and the freight railroads.

FreightWaves chats with a representative of the rail division of the International Association of Machinists about the labor agreement talks with the freight railroads.

Concerns that not all of the unions will agree to ratify their labor agreements have caused rail shippers and other transportation industry stakeholders to push President Joe Biden to act.

BRS follows the Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employes Division, which earlier this month rejected the tentative labor agreement.

UP is keeping a “growth mindset” as it looks to 2023 despite economic headwinds and an unresolved labor situation.

Just because a labor agreement is in sight between the railroads and the unions, that doesn’t mean rail service will instantly improve, shippers told FreightWaves.

Labor actions are creating great uncertainty for rail shippers in the U.S. and for air and sea cargo in Europe.

Settlement legislation introduced in the Senate may not be enough to avoid a rail strike or lockout on Friday.

Two more unions, whose membership totals about 6,000 freight rail employees, have tentatively agreed to a new labor contract that calls for substantial wage increases.

Two of the larger unions, BLET and SMART-TD, were unable to reach a tentative labor agreement last week. But both “remain committed” to reaching one.

Three railroad unions plan to send their members a tentative labor agreement for ratification. However, there are still nine unions that have yet to strike a deal.

Railroad union representatives have been reticent publicly about how they plan to proceed with contract talks following last week’s recommendations from an independent board.

The presidential emergency board is charged with examining the sticking points in the stalled contract negotiations between U.S. freight railroads and their unions.

Precision scheduled railroading again took center stage during a roundtable concerning rail service.

FreightWaves chats with international trade attorney Ashley Craig about what the troubles in labor talks for both rail and maritime mean for the broader supply chain.

President Joe Biden on Friday signed an executive order calling for a three-person board to investigate the issues behind the contract discord between the railroads and unions.

The National Mediation Board has ended mediation between the freight railroads and unions over a new labor agreement and is offering arbitration, both sides say.

Ten unions want a mediator to assist with negotiations for a new labor agreement between the unions and U.S. freight railroads. The railroads agree.

Rail-related provisions in the newly signed infrastructure bill span from federal grants to support infrastructure projects to studying the impacts of positive train control and train lengths.

Union members say precision scheduled railroading affects the ability to conduct thorough safety inspections.

SMART-TD must negotiate with Class I railroads on train crew size; Rail Customer Coalition calls on STB to take up reciprocal switching; ASLRRA praises progress on infrastructure bill; and Canadian Pacific urges KCS shareholders to vote against the proposed CN-KCS merger.

Four rail labor groups have banded together to warn regulators about potential post-merger efforts to trim labor costs, while investment banking firm Cowen says regulators’ denial of CN’s voting trust signals that CN will have to make a strong case for its proposed merger.

A politician’s perceived influence over transportation policy may factor into who gets financial support.

Rail stakeholders debate the legacy of precision scheduled railroading and the common carrier obligation.

The Surface Transportation Board and the Federal Railroad Administration administrator seek answers about Class I rail performance, while labor groups question furlough-related actions.

The unions filed a lawsuit against the Class I railroads, saying the railroads refuse to discuss changes to certain healthcare benefit provisions during the collective bargaining process.

With no end in sight to the pandemic in North America, BMWED says railroads should enhance worker safety.

Rail unions don’t want unemployment and sickness benefits to be subject to government spending cuts.

Labor groups praise bill’s contents but key freight rail group is “disappointed.”

The waivers were given to passenger and freight railroads because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The groups want the Federal Railroad Administration to ensure that railroads’ requests to waive certain regulations stem from a true labor shortage.

Freight rail trade and labor groups applaud the U.S. federal government for passing the $2 trillion stimulus package aimed at stabilizing the American economy amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Two unions’ petition to the Federal Railroad Administration contends that some Class I railroads have been slow to respond to calls for better workplace sanitation amid the COVID-19 outbreak.

Labor attorney takes issue with allowing carriers to keep accident evidence from being used in court.

The court ruled in favor of the Class I railroads and said SMART-TD must discuss crew size during ongoing collective bargaining negotiations.

Organizations may lobby Parliament to declare rail service an essential service so that access remains available during events such as labor strikes.

Lower rail volumes, an active Surface Transportation Board and a strike were among the key events that the U.S. and Canadian freight rail industry experienced this year.

The strike, coupled with and trade uncertainty, could hit businesses hard, groups say.

The Class I railroads furlough workers in times of lower volumes but unions think the cuts have been too deep as a result of precision scheduled railroading.

Train crew size, healthcare are among the key issues, on top of grappling with systemic changes to the industry

Rail union workers are at odds with other members of the freight rail industry over how cross-border rail operations are run at Laredo, Texas.

Should the Class I railroads see U.S. rail volumes sustainably increase, furloughed workers could be called back to meet network capacity needs, resulting in a bump up of headcount levels. But another factor that could affect headcount levels in the long-term is the deployment of automation technologies.