Posts tagged rail industry
Opinion: When union leaders are not working for their workers
October 14, 2026 // The rail unions’ latest top priority, the Railway Safety Act, fits the pattern. Recently attached to the House transportation bill, its centerpiece is a federal mandate to increase freight crew sizes. Leadership loves it because every additional crew seat written into federal law is a stream of dues that cannot be bargained away for things members might actually want, such as higher pay or better schedules. Although union leaders claim this is about crew safety and cite the East Palestine, Ohio, derailment as their motivation, they have been pushing for enlarged crews for years before the Ohio disaster.
Hundreds of Lufthansa Technicians at Rafael Hernandez International Airport Secure Vote to Remove IAM Union
August 13, 2025 // Majority of technicians signed petition demanding union ouster vote; IAM officials used allegations against employer in unsuccessful attempt to block vote
J. D. Vance’s One-Track Mind for Railroad Regulation
August 17, 2024 // Ohio senator and GOP vice-presidential nominee J. D. Vance has something of a soft spot for unions, as evidenced by his co-sponsorship of the 2023 version of the Railway Safety Act. The legislation would mandate minimum two-member crews on freight trains, a requirement unions have long sought. Such a mandate wouldn’t make trains any safer but would damage the ability of the rail industry to pursue automation.
Engineers frustrated with rails even as others get sick time
May 9, 2023 // Across the industry, CSX has led the way by reaching agreements with most of its unions on sick time. Norfolk Southern and Union Pacific have also announced several sick time deals. Most of these deals provide workers with four days of paid sick time and give them the option to convert three leave days into sick time to give workers a total of seven sick days a year. One of the key remaining concerns for the BLET is that even where the railroads seem willing to give engineers sick time, the railroads generally still want to hold workers accountable for missing work under their strict attendance policies. So even if workers do get sick time, they may not feel free to use it because they would still be penalized for missing work although CSX has said it won’t punish workers for taking sick time.
Why Railway Unions Oppose the Deal Biden Helped Arrange
September 14, 2022 // The eventual proposal the PEB came up with seems on its surface pretty good for the workers: a 24 percent wage increase through 2024, with another 14 percent wage increase effective immediately. That would put the average pay for a rail worker at $110,000 per year by the end of the agreement, not counting benefits. About 10 of the 15 unions have taken the deal, but two of the large ones Sheet Metal Air Rail Transportation and the Teamsters Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen have balked. They represent an estimated 66,000 workers and are demanding better sick leave and attendance policies.