WASHINGTON — Members of the International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation’s Railroad, Mechanical, and Engineering Department (SMART-MD) has ratified new contracts with BNSF Railway, CSX, and Norfolk Southern, the union announced.
Union members voted 69% in favor of the deal at BNSF, 68% at CSX, and 62% at NS.
The five-year agreements, which the union says are essential identical, run through Dec. 31, 2029. They include annual wage increases averaging 3.5% per year, improvements in paid vacation, and improvements in health and welfare benefits with no change in the employees’ monthly 15% contribution to costs.
John McCloskey, direction general chairperson of SMART-MD General Committee 2, said in a press release that a general wage increase of 18.5% compounded is “almost unheard of in the freight industry, especially on a voluntary basis without concessions. I appreciate BNSF, CSx, and NS negotiating with SMART-MD in good faith and allowing us the opportunity to engage with the members throughout the ratification process.”
For BNSF, the announcement comes the day after the railroad announced the American Train Dispatchers Association had also ratified a new deal [see “Train dispatchers ratify new agreement …,” Trains News Wire, Oct. 3, 2024]. The Transportation and Communications Union and Brotherhood of Railway Carmen have also ratified new agreements.
CSX was the first railroad to announce new tentative agreements — months ahead of the scheduled start of bargaining on a new contract — when it announced deals with three railroads on Aug. 21 [see “CSX, well before a deadline, reaches deal …,” News Wire, Aug. 21, 2024]. The railroad eventually announced early deals with a dozen unions, including SMART-MD. Norfolk Southern similarly announced deals with nine unions, most recently with SMART-TD, which represents conductors [see “Norfolk Southern and final SMART-TD general committee …,” News Wire, Sept. 4, 2024].
