ARLINGTON, VA (September 2, 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 to announce that the nation’s freight railroads have reached tentative agreements with the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers and the American Train Dispatchers Association, which together represent approximately 6,000 freight rail employees. When combined with the tentative agreements announced earlier this week, 5 of the 12 unions in the national bargaining round – which together represent more than 21,000 employees – have now reached tentative agreements.

The tentative agreements announced today follow the August 16 recommendations of Presidential Emergency Board (PEB) No. 250. The tentative agreements implement the PEB’s recommendations, which include 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. A portion of the wage increases and lump sum payments are retroactive and will be paid out promptly upon ratification of the agreements by the unions’ membership.

The NCCC would like to thank the unions’ leadership teams for their professionalism and efforts during the bargaining process.

It is critical for all stakeholders – including customers, employees, and the public – that all parties promptly resolve the negotiations and prevent service disruptions. Accordingly, we look forward to additional discussions with the unions that have not yet reached tentative agreements and will continue seeking voluntary agreements based on the PEB’s recommendations.

Under the Railway Labor Act, the carriers and the unions remain in a 30-day “cooling off” period. Voluntary settlements with all unions would avert any potential disruptions to rail service after the cooling off period ends at 12:01 a.m. on September 16.