Rail unions oppose report on stalled contract talks

The head of the nation's largest railroad union is arguing against a report designed to help get stalled contract talks moving that he says doesn't do enough about working conditions.

The railroads indicated earlier this week that they were ready to work on a deal based on the recommendations of the Presidential Emergency Board that President Biden appointed last month.

The proposal calls for 115,000 rail workers to get 24% raises and thousands of dollars in bonuses.

If the two sides can't agree on a new deal by mid-September, federal law would allow a strike or lockout.

Congress is expected to step in at that point to keep the supply chain moving.

A railroad strike could seriously damage businesses that rely on Union Pacific, BNSF, Norfolk Southern, CSX and other major freight railroads to deliver raw materials and ship their products.

The recommendations of the advisory board were a huge improvement over the railroads previous proposals, said Jeremy Ferguson, president of the Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers - Transportation Division union that represents conductors. He said that the recommendations don't go far enough to provide our members with the quality of life they deserve, and that both they and their families deserve. The 11 unions involved in the contract talks haven't yet commented on the details.

Ferguson said that individual railroad workers have been posting online since the report was released Tuesday.

Another sticking point in the negotiations is the railroads' proposal to reduce train crews from two people to one. The unions strongly oppose that move, not just to protect jobs, but also because they say they are concerned about safety.

The railroads don't need as many employees and locomotives as they used to because they overhauled their operations to run fewer, longer trains.

The National Carriers Conference Committee, the group that negotiates on behalf of major railroads, said the recommended deal would deliver the biggest raises in decades and push average railroad salaries up to $110,000 a year by the end of the five-year deal.