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The
National Carriers Conference Committee (NCCC), which represents
railroads including Union Pacific, Berkshire Hathaway-owned BNSF
and CSX, has been in contract talks with unions representing
115,000 workers for more than two years. Biden appointed a
presidential emergency board (PEB) last month to break the
impasse and the board released its findings to interested
parties on Tuesday.
"The railroads are prepared to meet with the rail unions and
reach agreements based on the PEB report without delay," the
NCCC said.
Railroads are vital to the transport of necessities ranging from
fuel oil and soybeans. A lockout or strike could snarl supply
chains, stoke inflation and pressure the already fragile U.S.
economy.
Susquehanna railroad analyst Bascome Majors in a note titled
"State of the Unions - Neither Side Will Love the PEB Report"
said the board split the difference between the unions' wage ask
and the railroads' offer.
The NCCC said the recommendations would increase wages by 24%
during the five-year period through 2024, with a 14.1% wage
increase effective immediately.
The recommendations - which are often the framework for a deal -
also include five annual $1,000 lump-sum payments, adjustments
to healthcare premiums, and limited changes to work rules. A
portion of the wage increases and lump-sum payments would be
retroactive, resulting in more than $11,000 on average in
immediate payouts to employees.
Factoring in healthcare, retirement and other benefits,
employees' total compensation would average more than $150,000
per year.
Union representatives did not respond to requests for comment.
The two sides are in a cooling-off period that ends at 12:01
a.m. EDT on Sept. 16. If they do not reach a voluntary
settlement by that time, a strike or lockout becomes legally
possible. Missing that deadline also opens the door for Congress
to intervene.
Mike Steenhoek, executive director of the Soy Transportation
Coalition, said agricultural shippers are frustrated with
unreliable rail service and urged both sides forge a deal before
the deadline to avoid further service disruptions.
"It would particularly be an inopportune time given the upcoming
harvest and overall global food insecurity," Steenhoek said.
(Reporting by Lisa Baertlein in Los Angeles and David Shepardson
in Washington, DC; Editing by Bernadette Baum and Richard Pullin)
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