2022 United States railroad labor dispute
Date2019[1] – December 2022
Location
United States
Caused byPrecision railroading
GoalsImproved working conditions
MethodsCollective bargaining
Parties

The 2022 United States railroad labor dispute was a labor dispute between freight railroads and workers in the United States. Rail companies and unions had tentatively agreed to a deal in September 2022, but it was rejected by a majority of the unions' rank-and-file members.[2][3] Congress and President Joe Biden intervened to pass the tentative agreement into law on December 2, averting a strike.[4]

The new contract contains an immediate 14% wage increase and 24% salary increase over five years, plus one day of paid leave per year.[2]

The companies and unions had been negotiating since 2019[1] and began mediation in June 2021.[5] Biden convened a Presidential Emergency Board in July 2022, which issued recommendations and a 30-day cooling off period that expired on September 16, 2022.[6] There were significant concerns that a freight rail strike would further exacerbate ongoing supply chain issues.

Background

The rise of precision scheduled railroading has resulted in resource and staffing cuts; to compensate railroad companies have enacted strict attendance policies for employees.[7] These policies eliminate any free time which workers have, requiring them to be effectively on-call for weeks at a time. Workers have complained of increased levels of stress and fatigue.[8]

Rail companies and unions representing workers have been negotiating since 2019 when the contracts were up for amendment.[1]

In January 2022, BNSF Railway implemented a points attendance system named "Hi Viz" that a union president called, "the worst and most egregious attendance policy ever adopted by any rail carrier."[9] In the system, each worker starts with 30 points and loses points for taking a day off. Workers can accrue 4 points by being on-call for 14 straight days, but any time off, even for illness or a family emergency, resets the clock.[9] Unions representing about 17,000 workers threatened to strike over the points system, but BNSF Railway sued and won a restraining order to prevent the unions from striking.[10]

The Railway Labor Act grants Congress the authority to intervene in any railway or airline strike.[7] Under this authority, the National Mediation Board has mediated negotiations between multiple freight railroads and unions starting in June 2021.[5]

Ten of the twelve unions involved negotiated together under the Coordinated Bargaining Coalition, while the Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employes (BMWE) and the International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers – Mechanical Division (SMART-MD) bargained together.[1] Although BMWE is part of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, along with the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET), they negotiated separately. Similarly, SMART-MD and SMART-TD, the union's transportation division, negotiated separately.[1]

Of the railways involved in the dispute, six bargained together, forming the National Carriers Conference Committee. These six were Union Pacific, Norfolk Southern, CSX, BNSF, Kansas City Southern, and Canadian National. Amtrak and Canadian Pacific bargained separately.[1]

Presidential Emergency Board

In July 2022, a Presidential Emergency Board was convened under the Railway Labor Act by President Joe Biden.[11] His Executive order stated, "I have been notified by the National Mediation Board that in its judgment these disputes threaten substantially to interrupt interstate commerce to a degree that would deprive a section of the country of essential transportation service."[12]

The board issued a report on August 16, starting a 30-day cooling off period that prevents any strikes or lockouts.[6] Reuters reported that the board proposed "annual wage increases of between 4% and 7% through 2024" in addition to retroactive pay increases, one extra paid day off and five $1,000 annual bonuses.[13]

By the end of August, three unions representing about 15,000 workers agreed to the recommendations made by the board.[14][15]

On September 14, near the end of the cooling off period, Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh hosted negotiations at the Department of Labor between the railroad companies, and unions in an attempt to prevent a strike.[16] The Washington Post reported that Biden was "personally involved in the talks", wanting workers to have more flexibility in scheduling.[2]

Early on September 15, Biden announced a deal had been reached to prevent a strike, including an immediate 14% wage increase, but only one day of paid leave per year rather than the 15 days of paid sick leave unions wanted.[2][17] The deal still needed to be ratified by rank-and-file members of the unions, however no strike could take place for several weeks regardless of the outcomes of ratification votes.[2]

Congressional intervention

In September 2022, U.S. Senators Richard Burr and Roger Wicker introduced a bill that would have required labor unions to agree to the terms proposed by the Presidential Emergency Board, to prevent a strike.[18] It was blocked by Senator Bernie Sanders, who noted that freight rail workers receive a "grand total of zero sick days" while railroad companies made significant profits.[19] In the House of Representatives, Speaker Nancy Pelosi said, "We’d rather see negotiations prevail so there’s no need for any actions from Congress."[16]

In late November, after some unions had rejected the agreement, Biden asked Congress to pass the agreement into law. On November 30, the House of Representatives passed the existing tentative agreement along with an amended version that would require railroad employers to ensure 7 days paid sick leave.[20] On December 1, the Senate passed the tentative agreement with only 1 day of sick leave.[21] President Joe Biden signed the legislation into law on December 2.[4] Writing for Jacobin, Barry Eidlin, associate professor of sociology at McGill University, said the message sent to the rail workers by the president and Congress was "shut up and get back to work."[22] The Biden administration's intervention in the dispute was condemned by over 500 labor historians in an open letter to Joe Biden and Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh.[23]

Impact on transit

Amtrak announced the preemptive cancellation of several services in anticipation of the strike, including all long-distance services on September 15.[16][24] The Northeast Corridor would not be impacted by any strike or lockout, as it is not owned or dispatched by freight railroads.[25] Following Biden's announcement that a deal had been reached, Amtrak announced it was resuming normal service.[26]

Followup agreements

In February 2023, CSX announced a deal for seven days of sick leave with two unions.[27]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 DeManuelle-Hall, Joe (February 2, 2022). "Rail Unions Are Bargaining Over a Good Job Made Miserable". Labor Notes. Retrieved September 15, 2022.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Gurley, Lauren Kaori; Stein, Jeff (September 15, 2022). "Biden scores deal on rail strike, but worker discontent emerges". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved September 16, 2022.
  3. ↑ Funk, Josh (November 28, 2022). "Biden calls on Congress to head off potential rail strike". AP News. Retrieved November 29, 2022.
  4. 1 2 Kanno-Youngs, Zolan; Cochrane, Emily (December 2, 2022). "Biden Signs Legislation to Avert Nationwide Rail Strike". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved December 2, 2022.
  5. 1 2 Mueller, Eleanor (May 16, 2022). "The supply chain's little-known weakest link: Railroad workers". Politico. Retrieved September 15, 2022.
  6. 1 2 Tankersley, Jim; Swanson, Ana (September 14, 2022). "Biden Maneuvers to Try to Avoid Devastating Rail Strike". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved September 15, 2022.
  7. 1 2 Gordon, Aaron (September 15, 2022). "Freight Rail Unions Reach Tentative Agreement That May Avoid Strike". Vice News. Retrieved September 15, 2022.
  8. ↑ Gordon, Aaron (April 18, 2022). "'What Choice Do I Have?' Freight Train Conductors Are Forced to Work Tired, Sick, and Stressed". Vice News. Retrieved September 15, 2022.
  9. 1 2 Gordon, Aaron (April 5, 2022). "'The Worst and Most Egregious Attendance Policy' Is Pushing Railroad Workers to the Brink". Vice. Retrieved September 16, 2022.
  10. ↑ Mantas, Harrison (February 22, 2022). "BNSF Railway wins another court battle in dispute with union over availability policy". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Retrieved September 16, 2022.
  11. ↑ Mueller, Eleanor (July 18, 2022). "Biden steps into rail labor dispute". Politico. Retrieved September 15, 2022.
  12. ↑ "Executive Order on Establishing an Emergency Board to Investigate Disputes Between Certain Railroads Represented by the National Carriers' Conference Committee of the National Railway Labor Conference and Their Employees Represented by Certain Labor Organizations". The White House. July 15, 2022. Retrieved September 15, 2022.
  13. ↑ Shepardson, David; Baertlein, Lisa (August 16, 2022). "Exclusive: Biden's emergency board calls for railroad wage hikes to resolve contract talks". Reuters. Retrieved September 15, 2022.
  14. ↑ Shepardson, David (August 29, 2022). "Freight railroads, some unions reach contract deals covering 15,000 U.S. workers". Reuters. Retrieved September 15, 2022.
  15. ↑ DeManuelle-Hall, Joe (September 1, 2022). "Rail Workers Reject Contract Recommendations, Say They're Ready to Strike". Labor Notes. Retrieved September 15, 2022.
  16. 1 2 3 Mueller, Eleanor; Snyder, Tanya; Niedzwiadek, Nick (September 14, 2022). "Rail talks drag on as strike deadline looms, workers prepare to picket". Politico. Retrieved September 15, 2022.
  17. ↑ Evers-Hillstrom, Karl; Schnell, Mychael (November 30, 2022). "House votes to avert rail strike, provide workers paid sick leave". The Hill. Retrieved December 8, 2022.
  18. ↑ Burr, Richard (September 12, 2022). "Burr, Wicker Introduce Resolution Calling for Adoption of Biden Administration Rail Recommendations If Voluntary Agreements Are Not Reached". Senate.gov. Archived from the original on December 29, 2022.
  19. ↑ Bolton, Alexander (September 14, 2022). "Sanders blocks proposal to force rail unions to accept labor deal". The Hill. Retrieved September 15, 2022.
  20. ↑ Cochrane, Emily (November 30, 2022). "House Passes Bill to Avert a Rail Strike, Moving to Impose a Labor Agreement". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved November 30, 2022.
  21. ↑ Cochrane, Emily (December 1, 2022). "With Senate Vote, Congress Moves to Avert Rail Strike". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved December 2, 2022.
  22. ↑ Eidlin, Barry (December 14, 2022). "For Railworkers, Sick Days Weren't the Real Issue — It Was Basic Control of Their Lives". Jacobin. Retrieved December 17, 2022.
  23. ↑ Gordon, Aaron (December 2, 2022). "More than 500 Labor Historians Condemn Biden's Intervention in Freight Rail Dispute". Vice. Retrieved January 5, 2023.
  24. ↑ Funk, Josh (September 14, 2022). "1 rail union rejects deal, 2 accept ahead of strike deadline". Associated Press. Retrieved September 15, 2022.
  25. ↑ Picchi, Aimee (September 14, 2022). "Amtrak cancels all long-distance routes amid looming rail strike". CBS News. Retrieved September 15, 2022.
  26. ↑ Ortiz, Omar Rodríguez (September 15, 2022). "Amtrak to restore all canceled train routes following tentative labor agreement". Miami Herald. Retrieved December 9, 2022.
  27. ↑ "Rail workers never stopped fighting for paid sick days. Now persistence is paying off". NPR. February 10, 2023. Retrieved February 11, 2023.
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