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.
Peak harvest season begins in the U.S. soon, and grain shippers are hoping rail service will be able to meet market demand.
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 American Chemistry Council says freight rail service still leaves much to be desired, despite the railroads’ efforts to improve.
The presidential emergency board is charged with examining the sticking points in the stalled contract negotiations between U.S. freight railroads and their unions.
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.
Comparing Amtrak and Freight Railroads
AskWaves looks at the many varied functions that the 56-year-old Federal Railroad Administration performs for passenger and freight rail.
Amid soaring inflation and supply chain crunches, the United States’ key rail regulator has been mired in political antics.
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.
The Federal Railroad Administration said Thursday that 46 projects across the U.S. have received more than $368 million in grants for rail-related infrastructure improvements.
AskWaves defines what the common carrier obligation is and why the concept has garnered attention lately.
Class I railroads’ offer of advance payments is rebuffed by one union as contract talks continue.
Congress should fund the Surface Transportation Board, agreed panelists at a U.S. House hearing on the board’s funding reauthorization. But they disagree on what STB’s role should be in regulating the freight railroads.
The company, which seeks to create autonomous battery-electric rail vehicles, will use the funding to support a 29-month advanced testing program of its technology.
Infrastructure and capacity expansion projects, regulatory uncertainties and progress toward supply chain visibility and sustainability are the themes that rail and intermodal stakeholders have set their sights on in 2022.
Several rail shippers had asked the Surface Transportation Board to temporarily suspend a proceeding on a voluntary arbitration program for small rate disputes, but the board denied that request.
Freight Railroads Keep American Moving
