The Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way – Employes Division is continuing to express its disappointment over planned furloughs at Union Pacific. But UP insists that it will call back furloughed employees as the railway pursues rail service and safety goals.
A look at U.S. Class I rail employment data shows that head count for train and engine crews grew when comparing averages in 2023 with 2020 — but employment totals for those maintaining equipment and stores appeared to fall.
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.
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.
The U.S. Government Accountability Office’s report on precision scheduled railroading serves as a broad overview of how the freight rail industry has changed over the past decade.
The number of employees working for the U.S. operations of the Class I railroads rose 4.4% year over year in November. But some of the employment data submitted to the board should be provided in a more user-friendly way, an attorney representing several unions said.
While headcount for train and engine employees is up for the first six months of 2022 compared with the same period in 2021, the freight rail headcount across all categories hasn’t risen.
Despite flat-to-higher rail volumes in August both year-over-year and sequentially, the number of employees working at the U.S. operations of the Class I railroads fell slightly.
Employment levels at the U.S. operations of Class I railroads were flat to higher from April to May. But year-over-year totals show a nearly 3% decline. Meanwhile, the Class I railroads say they’re actively hiring and training in 2021.
April employment levels at the U.S. operations of the Class I railroads were up 0.42% from March but down 7% year-over-year.
Adoption of technology has influenced U.S. Class I railroads’ staffing. Will additional technological innovation cut headcount even more, or will other factors have greater weight?
U.S. Class I rail headcount totaled 113,461 employees in January.
U.S. operations of the Class I railroads employed fewer employees in 2020 than in any year since at least 2012. Headcount was 14% lower than in 2019.
Total employment among the U.S. operations of the Class I railroads fell nearly 14% year-over-year amid the railroads’ continued deployment of precision scheduled railroading.
October’s total employment level among the U.S. Class Is was the second lowest for 2020 as railroads implement PSR.
Lower volumes blamed for the job reductions in Kansas.
The rail equipment and technology provider is one of many companies that have laid off or furloughed employees because of the lower-volume environment exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic.
An increase in U.S. rail traffic pulled headcount higher in July.
The reduction in employee levels comes as the railroads deploy cost-cutting measures to match network capacity needs with market demand.
Pandemic-induced rail volume declines, operational changes among reasons for falling employment figures
The coronavirus pandemic and declining coal volumes hit employee levels at freight and passenger rail companies.
Employee counts at U.S. Class I railroads continue to be lower in 2020 than 2019, although total headcount rose slightly from February.
Total headcount falls to its lowest level amid continued declines in U.S. rail volumes.
Slumping rail volumes and the Class I railroads’ operational efficiency efforts contribute to the headcount decline.
Employment levels at the U.S. operations of the Class I railroads hit their lowest point in years, according to data from the Surface Transportation Board.
The U.S. operations of the Class I railroads continue to shed employees.
Headcount within U.S. Class I rail operations tumbles amid declining rail volumes and the deployment of precision railroading.
The number of employees working for the U.S. operations of the Class I railroads slumps to its lowest level in years.
As precision scheduled railroading takes hold, headcount levels drop to their lowest in years.
Headcount continues to fall at U.S. rail operations as the railroads implement precision scheduled railroading.
U.S. railroads had fewer employees on their payroll in June amid lower rail volumes overall and company decisions to trim workforce levels as part of changes to their operating models.
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.
The number of employees working for the U.S. operations of the Class I railroads rose by nearly 1 percent in the first quarter of 2019 compared with the same period last year, according to data collected by the Surface Transportation Board.
