Notches Change, The Reverser DOESN’T

When negotiations opened at the Colorado Pacific Rio Grande Railroad, management came to the table seeking a series of concessions from SMART-TD Local 204 (Pueblo, Colo.). While early conversations included proposals that would have negatively impacted our members’ compensation structure, what the carrier ultimately pursued were cost-saving adjustments.

They believed they had the upper hand, but they ultimately underestimated who they were dealing with.

SMART-TD Local 204 members stood united. General Committee GO-020 General Chairperson Justin Schrock and Vice President Gary Crest made it clear from the outset: whatever discussions took place, our members would not move backward.

What followed was not a long, drawn-out fight. But it was an unusual and highly technical negotiation that required creativity, clarity, and solidarity.

When the dust settled, Local 204 ratified an agreement unanimously that delivers a 25% hourly wage increase over three years, along with meaningful quality-of-life improvements.

But this wasn’t a traditional wage increase story.

It took more outside-the-box thinking than that.

Understanding the Wage Structure

Prior to this agreement, members were compensated based on a 50-hour weekly guarantee. Unless they worked more than 50 hours a week, they received the same weekly pay. Overtime only began after surpassing that 50-hour threshold.

When the railroad sought concessions, your negotiating team developed an outside-the-box solution.

Rather than reducing the weekly compensation paid to our members, the agreement reduces the number of hours tied to that weekly guarantee.

Here’s what that means:

• Members continue to receive the same base weekly pay.
• The number of hours covered under that guarantee is lower.
• Overtime now begins sooner.
• The effective hourly rate increases because the same weekly pay is tied to fewer guaranteed hours.
• When additional hours are worked, they are paid at a higher overtime rate sooner than before.

In other words, the carrier came looking for givebacks.

Our members ratified an agreement that keeps their weekly earnings whole, reduces the number of hours they are on the hook for, improves quality of life, and increases the rate of pay when additional work is required.

That’s not putting the train in reverse. That’s changing notches while keeping it moving forward.

The Gains

Wages

Conductors, Engineers, and Designated Supervisors of Locomotive Engineers (DSLE) will realize a 25% wage increase over the life of the agreement. While the mechanics of that increase involve adjustments to the guaranteed hours structure, the result is higher effective hourly earnings and improved overtime opportunities.

Holiday Improvement

For years, Local 204 members had Easter Sunday listed as one of their contractual holidays even though this shortline railroad does not operate on Sundays, meaning that one of our members’ negotiated holidays was effectively wasted every single year.

This agreement fixes that.

Easter Sunday has been swapped for Christmas Eve, a day that doesn’t play favorites based on the calendar. December 24th falls on a scheduled workday at CXRG six out of every seven years.

In practical terms, this change is like adding a real holiday for Local 204 without giving anything up except the frustration of watching one of their contractual holidays consistently land on a day the railroad wasn’t operating in the first place.

That’s a quality-of-life win that members will actually feel.

PTO Cash-Out

Members can now cash out up to 10 hours of PTO each quarter, for a total of up to 40 hours annually.

Boot Allowance

A $150 annual boot reimbursement was secured.

Borrow-Out Protection

The ownership group behind Colorado Pacific Rio Grande operates three railroads under its umbrella. CXRG is the only one of the three that is organized and protected by a union agreement.

Prior to this agreement, when CXRG employees borrowed out to protect work on one of the other two sister railroads, they were not guaranteed the wages or rule protections they had secured on their home road. Those non-union properties operate with significantly lower wage scales and far fewer work-rule protections surrounding discipline and rule compliance.

That changes now.

Under this newly ratified agreement, Local 204 members are guaranteed the pay rates, rules, interpretations, and protections of their union agreement no matter which of the three railroads they answer the call to work on.

Our brothers and sisters will no longer leave their contractual protections behind when they cross property lines.

Union wages.
Union protections.

Every time.

Strategy, Solidarity, and Creative Leadership

This negotiation required a different kind of approach. It wasn’t about digging in for a prolonged standoff. It was about recognizing the carrier’s objectives and finding a solution that protected our members while improving their overall position.

“This carrier came to the table looking for concessions,” said General Chairperson Justin Schrock. “We were clear from the beginning that our members would not be moving backward. By thinking creatively and staying unified, we were able to restructure the guarantee in a way that protects pay, improves quality of life, and increases earning potential.”

Vice President Gary Crest emphasized the importance of solidarity in achieving that outcome.

“Our job was to keep the train moving forward,” Crest said. “In negotiations like this, you don’t always run it wide open in the 8th notch. Sometimes strategy requires adjusting the throttle. But the reverser? That never moves. Our members stayed together, trusted the process, and the result speaks for itself. Always forward.”