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 a tentative agreement with the National Conference of Firemen & Oilers, SEIU.

The tentative agreement announced today follows the August 16 recommendations of Presidential Emergency Board (PEB) No. 250. They 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. Portions of the wage increases and lump sum payments are retroactive and will be paid out promptly upon ratification of the agreements by the union's membership.

The NCCC would like to thank the union’s leadership team for their professionalism and efforts during the bargaining process.

It is critical that the remaining unions promptly reach agreements that provide pay increases to employees and prevent rail service disruptions. The carriers are in active discussions with the remaining unions about finalizing agreements based on the PEB’s recommendation. However, the two operating craft unions, BLET and SMART-TD, continue to maintain positions that were expressly rejected by the PEB.

Under the Railway Labor Act, the carriers and the unions that have not reached agreements remain in a “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.