CSX signs 'historic' agreement for West Virginia locomotive shop, TCU says

CSX Corp. and the Transportation Communication Union's (TCU) Carmen Division (BRC) recently signed a four-year agreement that reinstates scheduled subcontracted work for the Class I's locomotive shop in Huntington, W.Va., and the carmen workforce.

The pact includes a potential 20 years of work for the shop and provides the facility exclusive rights to perform all four-axle rebuilds, TCU officials said in a press release.

This agreement also stipulates that BRC members, carmen painters, machinists, boilermakers and sheet metal workers not be furloughed at the shop for any reason over the life of the contract, they said.

"The carrier agrees to maintain the current percentage of craftsmen for the life of the agreement," TCU officials said.

BRC members will receive a $500 signing bonus and $1 per hour skill differential in addition to any other differential pay they already receive. The mechanics will become the highest-paid mechanics on any Class I, TCU officials said.

"This is a historic agreement in that it proves that the unions can compete with contract shops, even at the higher rate of pay and premium benefits, by providing the carrier with quality and productivity that the non-union shops cannot produce," TCU officials said.