2025 National Agreement Freight Negotiations Update from President Ferguson

Following is an update directly from President Jeremy Ferguson for SMART-TD freight carrier members, specifically those who are currently under “national handling” for the 2025 bargaining round.  

This round got off to a good start on the earliest schedule ever, with tentative agreements reached before the opening period required under the Railway Labor Act.   

Currently, most of Rail Labor has already ratified what is now a “pattern agreement,” including the Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employees (BMWE), which is the second-largest rail union membership-wise.  

This was an historic tentative agreement that had been proposed to some of our membership already, but unfortunately it was turned down during the ratification process last year. It’s a significant TA, because it provides the largest front-loaded pay increase schedule, totaling a compounded 18.78 percent pay increase, with additional increases in vacation benefits for members with less than 25 years of service, increases in H&W benefits and improved vision/dental benefits, without third party intervention. By July 1, 2029, the foreman rate of pay will increase $61.40 per day and the conductor basic daily rate of pay will increase $55.28. (Under the record 22% of PEB 250 our foreman saw a $63.36 per day increase and our conductors saw a $56.53 basic day increase.)   

“Front loaded” means that the larger pay increases come in at the beginning of the contract rather than at the end of it, which strengthens the compounding effect of each subsequent wage increase. Historically, our largest wage increases have been towards the end of our moratoriums.  

“Without third party intervention” means that never has a union accomplished this much without givebacks and without a mediator, arbitrator or Presidential Emergency Board being involved in the process.   

If you’re not familiar with the NRLC Bargaining Chart, you can review it here ► 

President Ferguson and the full SMART-TD negotiating team will be meeting with the NCCC in Cleveland next Tuesday (July 22) to continue the negotiations, except for where we have already ratified agreements.   

It’s unfortunate that we are still at the table negotiating here in July, instead of celebrating the first of the five pay increases going into effect July 1, but the circumstances are understandable due to the large misinformation campaign that was waged on social media and on the cabs of our locomotives by another union.  Furthermore, it’s important that our younger (newer) members understand what a moratorium is and how that can protect them. The sooner we get this round of negotiations completed, the sooner a moratorium will be in place to secure their futures for another five years! This is huge, in the event technology rears its ugly head and God forbid, the government sees no issue with its implementation thereof. 

What about our Crew Consist Agreement that mandates conductors on all trains?  

Since there are no work rule changes to this effect, we will have another five-year period where no changes can even be proposed under Section 6 of the RLA once we ratify these agreements.  

This is huge!   

We have obtained a two-person crew (2-PC) regulation from the FRA, but we are still very concerned about what the Supreme Court has done with its recent Chevron decision which could compromise our regulation. We are still fighting for Congress to pass the latest Rail Safety bell, which would make 2-PC the law of the land. While we pursue this critical legislation, we still need to take every other possible measure to secure our futures one step at a time. Ratifying this agreement does this.   

Members have asked: what are we giving up? 

The answer: NOTHING!

There are no work rule changes in this proposal. This is a win-win for rail labor, hence the reason that nine other rail unions have already ratified the same pattern agreement, including our brothers and sisters in the SMART Sheet Metal Rail Department. Our SMART-TD Yardmasters on CSX have now ratified this pattern, along with our BNSF Yardmasters but in a more modified version.   

My office will provide another update following our July 22 meeting with the NCCC. All members are encouraged to keep staying engaged and standing united as we move forward in this crucial process.