General Chairperson Rick Lee Archives

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (Aug. 21, 2024) — SMART Transportation Division negotiators have reached a tentative agreement with CSX that would provide raises and improvements in paid vacation and health care if ratified by members.

The new five-year agreement will be put in front of TD members working in CSX’s Northern Mid-Atlantic District for a vote. SMART-TD’s GO 049 encompasses the former Baltimore & Ohio (B&O), former Conrail and former Pan Am and is led by General Chairperson Rick Lee.

“It’s refreshing to see that we are finally advancing in transparency and fruitful negotiations with CSX to address the issues at hand. Class I rail carriers traditionally stick together, play games with us and basically try to wait us out to uncertainty before offering any beneficial agreement changes that we seek, if they offer anything at all,” GC Lee said. “However, in order to get ahead of the potential situation like we went through in the 2020 rounds of bargaining that led to a PEB in 2022, SMART-TD GO 049 knew it was in the best interest of our members to avoid this potential circus in 2025 and engaged in early discussions prior to the actual contract moratorium deadline to test the waters.

“To that effect, as other discussions on national bargaining items quickly broke down, we were pleased to find that CSX CEO Joe Hinrichs and his team at CSX were willing to step up to the plate and not play games.

“Based on our advanced focus and collaborative efforts in an attempt to not delay pay raises and enhance benefits to those we represent, the tentative agreement (TA) reached with CSX today will not only allow our members to enjoy increases in their paychecks and significant AFHT meal reimbursements, but they will also enjoy distinct improvements to their quality of life with guaranteed vacation for new hires and accelerated vacation accrual for others with more seniority. Additionally, we were able to provide H&W benefit enhancements that our members have been seeking for many years.

“All in all, I’m very proud of the work of my team here at GO 049 has done to secure this agreement. If the TA is ratified, we will be able to avoid the projected multiple years of uncertainty and frustration, which falls into the ‘plus’ column alone.”

SMART-TD will release details about the tentative agreement to members as the choice is considered whether to ratify the tentative agreement. Terms include average wage increases of 3.5% per year over five years. Other details about improvements in paid vacation and health care will be provided in the near future.

GC Lee and his negotiating team for GO 049 was assisted by TD Vice President Jamie Modesitt in the negotiations.

The announcement of the tentative agreement comes months before the current National Railroad Agreement that took effect in late 2022 becomes amendable for the large U.S. rail carriers.

“I want to recognize the labor leaders who have stepped up to serve the best interests of their members and our employees in getting these historic deals done well in advance of their contracts even coming open for negotiation,” said Joe Hinrichs, president and chief executive officer. “CSX and our labor partners understand our employees don’t want to wait several years for their next pay raise. We thank the organizations for working with us to demonstrate that our ONE CSX culture and values aren’t just words, they are our collective path forward to an improved experience for both our employees and customers. We have also reached out to our other labor partners and look forward to promptly reaching agreements for all CSX union employees patterned on these same terms.”

CSX also announced on the same day that it reached tentative agreements with the Transportation Communications Union (TCU), the Brotherhood of Railway Carmen (BRC).

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SMART Transportation Division is the biggest rail union in the United States comprised of approximately 125,000 active and retired members who work in a variety of different crafts in the transportation industry. These crafts include employees on every Class I railroad, Amtrak, many shortline railroads, bus and mass transit employees and airport personnel. Media contact: news_TD@smart-union.org.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (April 28, 2023) — Conductors and trainmen on CSX northern lines ratified an agreement for paid sick time today.

SMART Transportation Division GO-049 negotiated the deal with CSX Transportation earlier this month, but it still faced approval by the membership and local officers. Today, SMART-TD General Chairperson Richard Lee announced that the agreement was ratified by the majority of ballots returned.

The lack of paid sick time within the railroad industry was highlighted in the media in 2022 when workers rejected a tentative national agreement that covered most railroad carriers and labor organizations, almost leading to a shutdown of the nation’s vital supply chain.

Since then, CSX reached agreements with several non-operating-craft labor organizations. However, CSX and other Class I carriers failed to reach an agreement with any operating-craft labor organization. The operating crafts (which include engineers, conductors and trainmen) have what is perceived as the most demanding of working conditions of the railroad crafts due to the travel requirements, working in the elements and the on-call nature of their positions. This agreement establishes a benefit in the railroad industry that the majority of the American workforce already enjoy.

In addition to paid sick time, the agreement, which covers approximately 2,400 conductors and trainmen on CSX Northern line, also adopts the current attendance policy put in place by CSX into the collective bargaining agreement. Railroads in the past have been reluctant to negotiate attendance and this is another first for the operating workforce as it subjects the former policy (now agreement) to negotiations if any changes are desired by either the carrier or the employees in the future. In return, the carrier gained flexibility and cost savings through provisions that allow conductors and trainmen to drive company-provided vehicles under certain conditions and also settled a long-term dispute between the SMART-TD and CSX regarding assignment placement.

“It’s refreshing and impressive to see the overwhelming support of the membership on this tentative agreement. It is also encouraging that SMART-TD and CSX leadership were able to sit down at the table and reach a consensus on items as important as these. I am hopeful this momentum will carry forward in future negotiations and help us collectively improve the working conditions and overall moral at CSX,” GC Lee said when asked about his overall feelings on the issues and outcome of the process.

Upon the initial announcement of the tentative agreement being reached, SMART Transportation Division President Jeremy, Ferguson said, “We thank CSX CEO Joseph Hinrichs and Executive Vice President Jamie Boychuk for exhibiting flexibility and working with our union in a collaborative manner in reaching this tentative agreement. This serves as a vital first step to giving T&E personnel the paid sick time they deserve, and I am hopeful this accommodation will be soon be extended to the employees working under the jurisdiction of the other General Committees at CSX as well.”

About SMART Transportation Division GO-049

SMART Transportation Division GO-049 (General Committee of Adjustment) is based in Jacksonville, FL. The General Committee negotiates and maintains property agreements for approximately 2,600 railroad employees in the northeastern quadrant of the United States including several short-line carriers and CSX Transportation. GO-049 is one General Committee of 62 that make up SMART-TD, the largest freight railroad labor union in the United States.