Arlington, VA (September 14, 2022) – The National Carriers’ Conference Committee (NCCC), which represents the nation’s freight railroads in national collective bargaining, today issued the following statement:

We are pleased that tentative agreements between the nation’s freight railroads and two labor organizations have now been ratified by the unions’ membership. The two unions are the Transportation Communications Union/IAM (TCU/IAM) and the Brotherhood of Railway Carmen (BRC), which together represent more than 11,000 rail workers.

The ratified agreements implement the August 16 recommendations of Presidential Emergency Board (PEB) No. 250, including a 24 percent wage increase during the five-year period from 2020 through 2024 — with a 14.1 percent wage increase effective immediately — and five annual $1,000 lump sum payments.

These are the first two agreements to be ratified in the national bargaining round. Ratification votes with other unions that have reached tentative agreements are pending, and the railroads continue to negotiate with unions that have not yet reached tentative agreements.

Ratification by a third union, the International Association of Machinists, was unsuccessful. The railroads will work with the IAM to determine next steps. The parties have agreed to maintain the status quo pending current discussions.