By ANDREA HSUTwitter for npr.org Remember earlier this fall when the country came within hours of a nationwide rail strike? We could soon see a repeat of that scenario. The nation’s freight rail companies and some of their workers have yet to settle on a new contract after three years of negotiations. You could be […]
Oberman: While railroads are warning about a lockout or strike, their deep reductions in staff have brought about a mini-shutdown By John Kingston for freightwaves.com The chairman of the federal Surface Transportation Board got up Wednesday in front of a room full of railroad executives, analysts and customers and ripped the industry to shreds. At […]
Two largest unions close in on votes in the biggest test yet of the Biden administration’s push to avert strikes. More than half of freight rail workers will vote on proposed contracts next week amid a highly organized effort by some of their colleagues to urge a “no” vote. It’s the biggest test yet of […]
By PETER SWOPE for brownpoliticalreview.org In the early hours of September 15, 2022, the Biden administration closed a tentative deal between union negotiators and railroad companies to avoid a work stoppage that threatened to hamstring America’s already-fragile supply chain. Railroad workers face punishing work conditions, including insufficient wages, workplace safety issues, and, most notably, an attendance system that affords […]
Transportation Trades Department of the AFL-CIO says more regulation is needed to enforce common carrier obligations Courtesy of trains.com A rail labor union coalition has proposed that Congress require federal regulators to conduct an annual “stress test” that would determine whether the Class I railroads have enough people, equipment, and infrastructure capacity to meet freight […]
By David Shepardson for reuters.com A group representing major railroads and a union that voted to reject a new contract said Wednesday they had agreed to extend a potential strike deadline until at least Dec. 4. The National Carriers’ Conference Committee (NCCC) and the International Brotherhood of Teamsters (BMWED) that represents 11,000 workers extended the […]
by Bill Stephens for trains.com Railroad and union officials working together on experiment in Kansas Union Pacific is running a small pilot program in Kansas that aims to bring more predictability to engineer schedules. The experiment comes as railroads have been having trouble retaining train crews and hiring new conductors at many locations across […]
Ana Gonzalez, Digital Associate Producer for click2houston.com SPRING, Texas – A railroad worker died at the hospital after an explosion caused by fuel at a railroad track near Old Town Spring Saturday morning, authorities said. According to officials with Harris County Fire Marshal’s Office and Spring Fire Department, it happened in the 26500 block of Hardy […]
By Chris Isidore, CNN Business amp.cnn.com Labor Secretary Marty Walsh says he hopes negotiators between railroads and some rail unions can reach new labor deals and avert a possible strike. But he said without a deal he expects Congress will step in and impose contracts on the unhappy rank-and-file union members. The statement is a […]
By David Shepardson For Reuters.com A labor union representing about 4,900 rail workers said on Saturday that members narrowly ratified a tentative contract agreement with freight railroads in the United States. The union representing locomotive machinists, roadway mechanics, and facility maintenance personnel is the seventh of 12 to approve the deal, while two unions previously voted […]