Rails drama over new contract, service issues
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The major railroads in the U.S. plan to offer their employees up to $600 a month in advance of raises they expect to pay once the current two-year-old national contract talks are eventually settled, according to Associated Press.
That measure is meeting some resistance from a coalition of unions that represents more than 105,000 railroad workers, who stated they will refuse the payments partly because workers would be on the hook to repay some of the money if the eventual raises are not big enough to cover the payments.
The unions are pushing the National Carriersâ Conference Committee to negotiate a contract instead.
Executives at CSX Corporation (CSX
-0.6%) and Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP
-0.2%) indicated last week during their earnings calls that a comprehensive contract with the unions is likely still some time away.
The contract talks are said to be mired in mediation while the railroads pursue unpopular proposals to cut the size of some rail crews.
Also in the mix, the Surface Transportation Board will hold public hearings on Tuesday to address recent service issues and recovery efforts. Executives from Burlington Northern Santa Fe, CSX Corporation (CSX), Norfolk Southern (NSC), and Union Pacific (UNP), Canadian National (CN), Canadian Pacific (CP), and Kansas City Southern are expected to attend the hearing. The focus of the hearings will be to push the rails companies to detail action plans to address the issues. Ahead of the hearing, Union Pacific said congestion on tracks was hurting its ability to meet shipping demand.