Posts tagged independence

    News Article ● Labor Unions

    Freight rail engineers vote in favor of new contract

    January 5, 2026 // According to the BLET, 70 percent of its more than 12,000 members voted approved the five-year agreement. The union says the contract addresses rates of pay and other issues and that there were no concessions or work rule changes in the new agreement. The contract covers BLET employees with major freight railroads, including Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway, Norfolk Southern Railway Co. (NS) and Canadian National.

    Association of American Railroads Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway collective bargaining agreement freight railroads independence National Carriers’ Conference Committee Norfolk Southern Railway Company Ohio Union Pacific Corp vacation wage increase

    Op-ed / Commentary ● Labor

    Op-ed: America must lead on the gig economy — or others will set the rules

    June 10, 2025 // Look at California’s catastrophic Assembly Bill 5, which tried to reclassify most independent contractors as employees. Instead of improving livelihoods, it triggered chaos. Freelancers across media, transportation, tech, and the arts lost contracts overnight. Self-employment rates cratered. Only after a voter revolt and economic fallout did lawmakers scramble to undo the damage, carving out one exemption after another — a slow-motion admission that they had gone too far. Now, the ILO wants to make AB 5 the global gold standard for the gig economy.

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