Rail carriers, SMART-MD reach labor pact

The National Carriers Conference Committee (NCCC) yesterday announced it reached a tentative agreement with the International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers–Mechanical Department (SMART-MD).

The tentative pact is the third that the NCCC has announced this week: NCCC announced similar agreements with the Transportation Communications Union (TCU) and the Brotherhood of Railway Carmen (BRC).

The NCCC reached the agreements on behalf of represented railroads that had not previously reached local agreements with these unions, according to a press release issued by the National Rail Labor Conference (NRLC).

"This agreement [with SMART-MD] ... continues to reinforce the pattern set by early agreements between carriers and unions at the local level, which will help guide prompt, stable outcomes for the entire industry,” said Jeff Rodgers, chairman of the NRLC and the NCCC.

The tentative agreements must be ratified by the unions' members. The national rail carriers and unions participating in the 2025 national bargaining can be found here.