Posted on 09/20/2022 11:05:43 PM PDT by ransomnote
Norfolk Southern, Union Pacific and other railroads reached a tentative union deal brokered by the Biden administration
The threat of a U.S. freight railroad strike still looms. Union members still need to ratify a tentative agreement reached by their leaders. Some local members have already rejected the terms.
The largest U.S. freight railroads and union leaders struck a tentative deal Wednesday after 20 hours of negotiations, temporarily averting a strike that would have shut down rail lines across the country and disrupted the economy.
But the issue is far from over. Members of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers District 19 already rejected the agreement, although they agreed to postpone a strike until Sept. 29 to allow more time for negotiations and to allow other unions to vote.
The tentative deal
The deal was negotiated by the unions representing engineers and conductors, but all 12 rail unions will likely benefit from the concessions railroads made.
The new contracts provide rail workers a 24% wage increase during the five-year period from 2020 through 2024, including an immediate payout on average of $11,000 upon ratification, the Association of American Railroads said.
Railroad workers will also receive $5,000 in bonuses in the deal that is retroactive to 2020.
The railroad industry has said average rail worker salaries will reach $110,000 by the end of this five-year deal in 2025.
In addressing union concerns, the deal also includes an additional paid leave day a year. Railroads also agreed to let workers take unpaid time off for doctor’s appointments or medical procedures without being penalized under their attendance rules.
Workers will have to pay a larger share of their health insurance costs, but their premiums will be capped at 15% of the total cost of the insurance plan.
MORE AT LINK
(Excerpt) Read more at foxbusiness.com ...
Damn, the union rank and file don’t give a sh*t if a strike will hurt the Dems in November. Maybe the inflation is killing them too.
“ Maybe the inflation is killing them too.”
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I’m sure they are. Plus they were not among the privileged who could pretend to work from home or not work and get more from COVID-19 unemployment benefits than their jobs paid.
The union leadership was "persuaded" by the Democratic Party and the Department of Labor.
I heard a deal was brokered, a certain increase in wage over a course of five years. The labor guy might be a VP pick for the Dems.
And now I just read it...never mind...
Average salary to $110,000.
Sweet.
Sounds like longshoreman pay. About five years ago the crane operators at the Port of Seattle were getting $125,000 a year - before overtime.
Bump
I heard Norfolk was merging with another company. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OuNLLn23nUA
“Railroads also agreed to let workers take unpaid time off for doctor’s appointments or medical procedures without being penalized under their attendance rules.”
I am not a pro union guy. Mostly because my dad was a Teamster. However, the way workers were docked for taking sick days and going to doctors appointments was BS.
The major railroads have cut the amount of employees to the minimum. To the point that eventually they did not have enough crews to run the trains. It has effected their ability to provide equipment in a timely manner to their customers.
I have seen this first hand for the last three years in the lumber industry. Sawmills were not getting empty flatcars to load on. To the point that many had to adjust how to sell their lumber on trucks and vans rather than rail cars. The service on the CN, BNSF, UP has gotten so bad that sawmills had to reduce production in Canada because of the reduced amount of rail cars being delivered to them at British Columbia sawmills.
There are only six class one railroads left in North America:
BNSF, UP, NS, CSXT, CN, CPRS
The larger they have gotten, the worse their service has become. In many markets they have a monopoly. So, your shipping options are limited to a choice of ONE. Some markets have two choices. Almost none have three except a few major gateways.
In many markets it is the same price to ship on a truck as it is on a car.
A combined strike by the railroad workers, truckers, and longshoremen could completely cripple a nation that outsources production of nearly everything by free trade.
Thanks for the details about freight trains.
I have the impression that most freight trains have two guys in the engine and one guy in the caboose.
Is that correct?
Moving thousands of tons of cargo on land with just three guys is pretty darn amazing, if true.
I do not think they have a caboose anymore.
Not sure of the crew size.
TYT: The Biden Admin has “kneecapped” the Union workers... Strike Leverage taken away
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2WjF_Urj2W8
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