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The following is a statement from SMART-TD President Jeremy Ferguson and BLET President Dennis Pierce.

CLEVELAND, (September 2) — As we approach Labor Day 2022, our Unions stand at a crossroads. While our normal messages heading into one of the most important days for Organized Labor would be about Labor’s proud history of improving the lives of working-class Americans, we are embroiled in the ongoing effort to obtain a National Freight Agreement worthy of our members’ consideration.

We know there are vastly different opinions amongst our collective memberships on what should happen next, and the democratic principles that drive our Unions give each member the right to their own opinion. Although current opinions may vary, there are other things that apply equally to us all.

It has become clear in our post-Presidential Emergency Board (“PEB”) negotiations with the rail carriers that they are counting on the Federal Government to come to their aid if we are unable to reach a Tentative Agreement, and so far, we have not reached an Agreement. The same rail carriers that complain about government intervention when the Federal Railroad Administration proposes a rulemaking on crew size, and also shudder at the thought of the Surface Transportation Board issuing regulations that would help shippers, now all but hide behind Congress, refusing so far to negotiate terms our members would accept and ratify. While there are no guarantees for either side as to what Congress might do if they are involved, there is no doubt that the rail carriers expect Congress to intervene to save them from dealing fairly with their employees if there is a job action; Union Pacific CEO Lance Fritz so much as publicly said that earlier in the week.

It is also clear that SMART-TD and BLET have been carved out from the rest of Rail Labor as we were the only Unions that the carriers insisted upon work rule changes from throughout the PEB hearing. Our Unions’ members have also borne the brunt of inept crew management, life-changing attendance policies, and working conditions over the past years that are making it all but impossible for rail carriers to hire and retain operating employees. As such, SMART-TD and BLET members are situated differently at this stage of the negotiations than the members of most of the other Rail Unions.

Knowing that, we should not fault the Unions who have decided to allow their members the right to decide their own fate through a ratification vote. As we reach the end of the Railway Labor Act negotiating process, all of our contracts will soon be settled, one way or the other. Allowing the membership to decide how that happens is at the very core of the labor movement, and our Unions will not interfere in the decision by other Rail Unions to vote upon a Tentative Agreement based upon the PEB’s recommendations.

Instead, we will continue to concentrate our efforts on obtaining Tentative Agreements for our members that are worthy of their consideration. Our goal is to reach an agreement that could be ratified because SMART-TD and BLET members also have the right to control their own futures through the democratic principles that give them the right to vote on and approve contracts.

One thing is now certain, obtaining such an agreement would be much more likely if Congress took a long Labor Day break and allowed the parties to work out their issues without intervention from the Federal Government. While we know that many SMART-TD and BLET members would like to strike their carriers for any number of reasons, it should not take a job action to reach an agreement worthy of their consideration. We call on Congress to stay out of our dispute, and if you do, we are confident that the rail carriers will move from their current positions and settle with their employees in a fashion that could be ratified.

Wishing you all a safe and healthy Labor Day,

President Jeremy Ferguson, SMART-TD

President Dennis Pierce, BLET

Mario Navarro, 49, a SMART-TD member out of Local 18 (El Paso, Texas), died late Aug. 29 after a pair of rail cars derailed in an accident in Union Pacific’s Alfalfa Rail Yard during a shoving movement.

Mario Navarro, left, is shown in this family photo provided on a GoFundMe page. Brother Navarro died in an at-work accident on Aug. 29, 2022.

An online fundraiser has been established to help his family through their time of unimaginable grief and loss.

Brother Navarro was an 11-year member of our union and worked as a conductor for UP.

“He was not just our co-worker, but our brother as well. I cannot describe how this hurts,” Local 18 Secretary & Treasurer Catarino Montero wrote on the online fundraiser page. “I would like for everyone to please pray for his family. They need it more than ever.”

Brother Navarro is the fourth TD member who has died while in service in 2022.

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) and investigators from the SMART-TD National Safety Team were dispatched to investigate the accident.

The SMART Transportation Division expresses its most sincere condolences to Brother Navarro’s family, friends and to his brothers and sisters of Local 18.

This article will be updated with service information as more information is provided to the union.

The following is a joint statement from SMART TD President Jeremy Ferguson and BLET President Dennis Pierce:

CLEVELAND, Ohio, August 27, 2022 — On Monday, August 22, the SMART TD and BLET, along with the other remaining United Rail Unions, met with the Rail Carriers via Zoom to determine if PEB 250’s recommendations could serve as a basis for a tentative agreement. In-person meetings were then held on Thursday and Friday in Chicago, Illinois. Unfortunately, the meetings did not result in any tentative agreement language that operating crafts would accept, or that could be presented to our members for ratification.

Although no tentative agreement was reached this week, SMART TD and BLET remain committed to negotiating over issues that are most important to our members, including wages, quality of life, and attendance as well as voluntary time off issues. In addition to those issues, we are seeking clarification on certain aspects of PEB 250’s recommendations concerning health and welfare.

We will continue to keep our members updated as the cooling-off period countdown clock to 12:01 a.m. (eastern time) on September 16th approaches. Our goal is and always has been to reach a voluntary agreement that is worthy of our membership’s consideration. As we approach the final stages of the steps of the Railway Labor Act, we appreciate our members’ continued support. We have made it abundantly clear to the Carriers that we are prepared and willing to exercise every legal option available to us, to achieve the compensation and working conditions that we and our families rightfully expect and deserve.

2nd Quarter 2022

Net Earnings: Increased 10% to $1.7 billion from $1.5 billion  
Earnings Per Share: n/a – BNSF is not publicly traded  
Revenue: Increased 14% to $6.6 billion from $5.8 billion  
Operating Income: Increased 7% to $2.4 billion from $2.2 billion
Operating Expenses: Increased 19% to $4.3 billion from $3.6 billion 
Operating Ratio: Worsened 2.8% to 63.2% from 60.4% 

Follow the link for full financial results from BNSF.

2nd Quarter 2022   

Net Earnings: Increased 28% to C$1.33 billion from C$1.04 billion  
Diluted Earnings Per Share: Increased 32% to C$1.92 per share from C$1.46 per share 
Revenue: Increased 21% to a record C$4.34 billion from C$3.6 billion  
Operating Income: Increased 28% to a record C$1.8 billion from C$1.4 billion 
Operating Expenses: Increased 18% to C$2.6 billion from C$2.2 billion  
Operating Ratio: Improved 2.3 points to 59.3% from 61.6% 

Follow the link for full financial results from CN.

2nd Quarter 2022

Net Earnings: Decreased 39% to C$765 million from C$1.25 billion  
Diluted Earnings Per Share: Decreased 56% to $0.82 per share from $1.86 per share 
Revenue: Increased 7% to C$2.20 billion from C$2.05 billion  
Operating Income: Increased 6% to C$868 million from C$820 million  
Operating Expenses: Increased 8% to C$1.33 billion from C$1.23 billion  
Operating Ratio: Worsened by 50 basis points to 60.6% from 60.1%

Follow the link for full financial results from CP.

2nd Quarter 2022

Net Earnings: Increased to $1.18 billion from $1.17 billion  
Diluted Earnings Per Share: Increased 4% to $0.54 per share from $0.52 per share  
Revenue: Increased 28% to $3.82 billion from $3.00 billion  
Operating Income: Increased 1% to $1.70 billion from $1.69 billion  
Operating Expenses: Increased 63% to $2.11 billion from $1.30 billion  
Operating Ratio: Worsened to 55.4% from 43.4% 

Follow the link for full financial results from CSX.

2nd Quarter 2022

Net Earnings: Increased 142% to $194 million from -$459.6 million  
Earnings Per Share: n/a  
Revenue: Increased 13% to $846 million from $750 million  
Operating Income: Increased 172% to $313 million from -$432 million  
Operating Expenses: Decreased 55% to $533 million from $1.18 billion  
Operating Ratio: Improved 94.6 points to 63.0% from 157.6% 

Follow the link for full financial results from KCS.

2nd Quarter 2022

Net Earnings: Stayed flat at $819 million  
Diluted Earnings Per Share: Increased 5% to $3.45 per share from $3.28 per share  
Revenue: Increased to $3.3 billion from $2.8 billion  
Operating Income: Increased 9% to $1.09 billion from $1.04 billion  
Operating Expenses: Increased 21% to $2 billion from $1.6 billion  
Operating Ratio: Worsened to 60.9% from 58.3%

Follow the link for full financial results from NS.

2nd Quarter 2022

Net Earnings: Increased 2% to $1.84 billion from $1.79 billion  
Diluted Earnings Per Share: Increased to $2.93 per share from $2.72 per share  
Revenue: Increased 14% to $6.3 billion from $5.5 billion 
Operating Income: Increased 1% to $2.49 billion from $2.47 billion 
Operating Expenses: Increased 25% to $3.8 billion from $3.03 billion  
Operating Ratio: Worsened 5.1 points to 60.2% from 55.1% 

Follow the link for full financial results from UP.

A safety alert was issued this week after the discovery of tripwires by a Class I worker Aug. 19 stretching from rail spikes to a sign across the ballast near Harrisonville, Mo.

“The affixing of these wires – difficult to find even when looking for them, much less see while performing professional duties along the right-of-way – presents a substantial hazard for railroad workers,” the Railway Alert Network alert issued Aug. 22 stated.

View the full alert here. (PDF)

SMART Transportation Division President Jeremy R. Ferguson issued the following statement on Aug. 18, 2022:

On Tuesday, August 16, 2022, Presidential Emergency Board 250 (PEB 250) provided the White House with its recommendations for settlement between the National Carriers’ Conference Committee (NCCC) and the United Rail Unions coalition. And while the recommendations of PEB 250 were a vast improvement over the carriers’ previous proposals, the recommendations do not go far enough to provide our members with the quality of life that they have earned, and that both they and their families deserve.

Last month, the leaders of the dozen-strong United Rail Unions delivered impassioned and technically sound presentations before the PEB expressing the need for improvements to quality-of-life issues, including addressing the draconian carrier attendance policies and the need for more paid and scheduled time off. However, it would seem as if these were not deemed as key issues. Obviously, our preference was for the PEB to make firm and bold changes to that status quo, but, unfortunately, they deferred and moved these important issues back to the domain of arbitration.

Additionally, the PEB recommended a 22 percent cumulative, 24 percent compounded, raise in compensation, which, if passed, would be the largest raise rail labor has seen in 47 years, but falls well short of our proposed benchmark to provide our members, most of whom have worked tirelessly throughout the pandemic and have brought about the richest era in railroading history, with a rate of pay of which they are deserving and that will attract new talent. Our organizations presented real-time statistics that exhibited how our remaining members are left to shoulder the additional workload after seeing valued co-workers laid off or resigning as a direct effect of Precision Scheduled Railroading. Furthermore, it is unknown if the recommended wage and benefit package will assist in retaining workers, let alone recruit new employees into the industry. Only in time, if accepted, will we be able to correctly answer that question, but based on our initial feedback, the outlook is not good.

SMART-TD leaders made our case clear before the PEB in July that our membership and the membership of the other unions deserve better, especially in recognition of what we accomplished before, during and after the pandemic. Our position has not changed, nor have we wavered from it. We are and will continue to fight for each and every one of our members, seeking the best possible outcome in all that we engage in.

Truthfully, your union negotiators feel a level of disappointment with the PEB’s recommendations falling short on many of our requests — especially as it split the difference between what Labor and the carriers were seeking from a wage perspective, rather than choosing one over the other. While it is a slight comfort knowing that these results are still better than those the carriers previously proposed and what likely would have been obtained under the previous administration, it does little to alleviate the division between the hedge fund managers, shareholders, and railroad officers — those who have obtained record profits, bonuses, stock buybacks and lower operating ratios all the while sitting in their climate-controlled, sanitized corporate offices — while the working people, their employees, our members, fellow brothers, and sisters are on call 24/7/365, working safely, loyally, moving America’s freight and citizens.

The decision on whether to accept a tentative agreement that could be based on these recommendations may ultimately lie in the hands of those same workers whose passion and determination carried the country through a pandemic and a supply-chain crisis.

Although we share your frustration, our effort towards attaining the best possible contract for our membership will not be deterred. This is but the first step in the process, so please be patient as this situation continues to evolve. We are currently gathering and evaluating information, which includes input from the membership, as we weigh the PEB’s recommendations and what our options may be. The remaining members of the coalition will be meeting with the NRLC in the very near future to determine if a possible tentative agreement can be reached as a result of these recommendations.

In the meantime, we will be presenting factual information strictly based on the PEB recommendations in an effort to educate all involved what this could look like from a financial standpoint when evaluating GWI’s, back pay, or the 15% cost sharing associated with your health and welfare plan. These presentations will be without the opinion of SMART-TD in an effort to strictly dispel any misconceptions or misunderstandings of how these critical components should be reviewed at this time.

In solidarity,

Jeremy R. Ferguson

President, SMART Transportation Division

Presidential Emergency Board 250 has released its recommendations regarding the dispute between the United Rail Unions and the National Carriers Conference Committee over National Railroad Contract negotiations.

Meetings are scheduled at 4 p.m. (Eastern) Aug. 16 among the United Rail Unions leadership and later with the SMART-TD negotiating team regarding the PEB’s findings and what the options and next steps forward may be.

SMART Transportation Division President Jeremy Ferguson plans to issue comments on the recommendations after discussions with the District I General Chairpersons are concluded.

SAN FRANCISCO — Federal Railroad Administrator Amit Bose didn’t elaborate on the Rule of 2 that his agency recently put forth for the public to weigh in on, but he made it clear as he spoke on the second day of the SMART Leadership Conference that the lines of communication at his agency are open.

And comments are encouraged, he said.

“We truly appreciate your insights in keeping us informed on a daily basis of the things you see and hear, especially when reporting potentially unsafe conditions,” Bose said.

Safety inspections and audits are up at the agency, and the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) on the Rule of Two, which requires a minimum of two crew members on trains, is open for public comment.

The past year and a half of work at the agency has been focused on undoing a questionable course taken under the prior administration in regard to safe rail operations, Bose said, so much of his time has been spent reorienting FRA so that safety is the end goal.

“I want you all to know that my North Star is and always will be safety. It’s about safety. The word ‘politics’ doesn’t enter into my thinking in any way in any part of my day,” Bose said. “I don’t know where politics was from January 2017 to January 2021, I can tell you that some of the decisions that the previous administration made, that word was definitely in there.”

Among the changes by Bose — a reactivation of the Rail Safety Advisory Committee (RSAC) and the resumption of safety audits of Class I carriers.

“FRA shares SMART’s commitment to make sure rail operations are safe for workers, rail passengers and the public,” he said.

Bose said that his agency has been and will remain available to hear worker concerns.

“We’ll act promptly to correct problems within FRA’s purview and, for matters that don’t, lend FRA’s voice to bring about workable solutions,” Bose said.

Transportation Division President Jeremy Ferguson thanked Administrator Bose for taking the time to appear before the union.

“He truly is pointing FRA in a good direction for our members’ safety and for a better rail system in the United States,” President Ferguson said.

SAN FRANCISCO — Transportation Trades Department (TTD), AFL-CIO President Greg Regan emphasized that the resurgence of labor unions’ power has been very apparent as he addressed the general session Aug. 9, the second day of the SMART Leadership Conference.

It began as the nation coped with the pandemic and then as the Biden administration set its sights toward accomplishing true action on infrastructure.

“The labor movement drove the response,” Regan said. “We were the ones who delivered for working people every step of the way.”

Among the examples: Investments in the transportation sector through the CARES Act, which put SMART-TD members furloughed by Amtrak back on the job after the pandemic froze the nation’s transportation system, and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which outlaid a historic level of funding for Amtrak and public transportation, among others.

“This is the type of legislation that every president since Richard Nixon has been trying to accomplish,” Regan said. “And it happened last year. That doesn’t happen without the strength of the labor movement pushing that legislation.

“This is a rebirth for this country. We have a massive amount of opportunity for infrastructure in this country right here and we cannot skip over that. We might want to go on and move on to the next fight, but we should take a moment to reflect on what a major accomplishment that was.”

Regan mentioned specifically the work of the legislative departments of both SMART and the Transportation Division on Capitol Hill.

Now, as national rail contract negotiations near the end of the line set forth by the Railway Labor Act and comment has opened for a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) by the Federal Railroad Administration to make a minimum two-person rail crew nationwide, transportation labor has a chance to flex its muscles again.

Regan took part, along with many unionized workers from multiple industries July 30 in Galesburg, Ill., as they stood together to draw attention to carriers’ treatment of rail workers.

“We are not going to buckle. They are not going to be able to split us,” he said. “There is a level of strength and solidarity I see in freight rail right now that is unmatched.”

As for getting the Rule of 2 finalized by the Federal Railroad Administration, Regan said he’s confident that the public and regulators will recognize that it’s a safety issue and non-negotiable, especially as the comment period progresses to its conclusion in late September. “We’re not going to back down. We’re going to stay together, we’re going to fight like hell and we’re going to deliver.”

On the first day of the first-ever SMART Leadership Conference, Transportation Division President Jeremy Ferguson updated hundreds of SMART officers on the progress his administration has made in strengthening our union since his administration took office in 2019.

It was President Ferguson’s first opportunity to address a large, live assemblage of the union since the Second SMART General Convention in Las Vegas.

“We have accomplished so much together, much more than I ever imagined, with the new bonds that we have made and the promises to the delegates that we would unite this entire union for the betterment of all of our members,” he said.

He noted that the administration has made some rapid and meaningful progress, even with the challenges the membership as a whole has faced since 2019. He emphasized strides made in safety with the online Safety Condition Report introduced in early 2021, education and an accountability to membership.

Education-wise, the change from the old regional meeting model to a leadership summit such as the one in San Francisco and the regional training seminar models for a more locally-oriented experience was a shock to some, but the feedback has been largely positive from those who’ve attended.

“It was not easy to break from previous tradition, but I was adamant that we train to be the best. This week we are going to teach many important skills and values needed to be the best. We are going to lead the next generation to be better and more skilled than we are here today,” he said. “We are going to give them advantages that we were never afforded. That’s what true leadership does, they make it better for their successors.”

He noted that the years since his administration took office have been anything but normal.

“It’s been one challenge after another from court cases and other crises. There’s rail carriers’ implementation of PSR [Precision Scheduled Railroading] and refusal to reward their essential workers with a meaningful contract, brutal assaults on our bus and transit members, the supply-chain meltdown that’s followed, the exodus that is happening with good loyal workers being ground down by attendance policies and choosing to walk away from their hard-earned pensions just to have time with their family,” he said.

“Times have gotten tough here lately with such drastic shortages of bus drivers and railroad workers, but when things get tough, I know that the one thing we’re not afraid to do in the face of adversity is to show up and step up. We’re not fearful of the challenges that we see ahead after what we’ve been through.”

President Ferguson later in the day addressed a Transportation Division general session consisting of about 200 general committee and state board officers in attendance.

In it, he updated the audience on Presidential Emergency Board 250, saying that labor’s performance had the carriers on their heels. The railroads’ case essentially boiled down to “labor’s being greedy.”

“There’s no union on the outside. We’ve all got each other’s backs,” he said of the United Rail Unions, who pooled resources and stated labor’s case as a unified body before the PEB in July. “It is the best we could have done.”

Other topics included the in-progress relocation of the TD executive offices from North Olmsted, Ohio to a new site in Independence, Ohio. When the move is complete, that relocation will save a projected $2 million for the union over the new 10-year lease.

He urged officers to promote the benefits offered internally through the union, such as the TD Voluntary Short Term Disability and Discipline Income Protection programs rather than job insurance programs run by outside entities.

The cost of DIPP will decrease, effective Oct. 1, and more reductions will come in the future if the number of contributors to the program goes up.

“The more people we get in the fund, the lower we can go,” he said of the DIPP.

To close, the organizing department has been reinvigorated with new documents and an enthusiastic squad of people telling new hires why being a member of TD is the right choice. Chief of Staff Jerry Gibson heads up the department that has been inundated with new hires. “All our hard work is starting to pay off,” President Ferguson said.