Unions seek mediator’s help in contract talks with railroads

Contract negotiations between 10 rail unions and the National Carriers Conference Committee (NCCC) have stalled and are headed for mediation.

After two years of bargaining, the unions have applied to the National Mediation Board (NMB) for a federal mediator to be assigned to the negotiations, the Coordinated Bargaining Coalition (CBC) announced yesterday.

"We anticipate that the involvement of the NMB will cause the industry to refocus on addressing the legitimate needs of the men and women whose labor generates their positive financial returns," CBC officials said in a prepared statement. The CBC negotiates on behalf of the unions, whose latest proposal can be found here.

The nation’s freight railroads welcome the NMB’s assistance in reaching "fair and reasonable" collective bargaining agreements with the 10 unions, said NCCC Chairman Brendan Branon said in a press release.

"The railroads believe in the collective bargaining process and will continue negotiating in good faith to reach voluntary agreements with the CBC unions," said Branon. "In that regard, the railroads welcome the NMB’s assistance and look forward to their discussions with the CBC and the NMB."

The railroads propose reaching agreements on a fair compensation and benefit package for rail workers that modernize the national railroad health plan and also update certain outdated work rules that, in some cases, have not been revised in decades, NCCC officials said. To learn more about the railroads’ proposals, click here.

The CBC represents the following unions: American Train Dispatchers Association; the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen/Teamsters Rail Conference; the Brotherhood of Railroad Signalmen; the International Association of Machinists; the International Brotherhood of Boilermakers; the National Conference of Firemen & Oilers/SEIU); the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers; the Transport Workers Union of America; the Transportation Communications Union/IAM, including TCU's Brotherhood Railway Carmen Division; and the Transportation Division of the International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail, and Transportation Workers.

Collectively, the CBC unions represent more than 105,000 railroad workers covered by the various organizations' national agreements, and make up over 80% of the workforce to be affected by this round of negotiations.