SMART-TD Reaches Tentative National Agreement with Carriers

Strong Wage Gains, Quality-of-Life Improvements Secured with NO Givebacks

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 

Independence, OH — The International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers – Transportation Division (SMART-TD) announced today that it has reached a Tentative National Agreement (TA) with rail carriers represented by the National Carriers’ Conference Committee (NCCC). 

Scope of the Agreement 

This TA applies to SMART-TD members working for the Class I railroads BNSF, Norfolk Southern, and Canadian National, and other participating railroads, including the shortlines covered by national negotiations. Union Pacific, CSX, and CPKC are not part of this agreement, as they are not negotiating through the NCCC in this process.

Significant Wage Increases 

The Tentative Agreement provides five consecutive annual general wage increases: 

• July 1, 2025 – 4.0% 
• July 1, 2026 – 3.75% 
• July 1, 2027 – 3.5% 
• July 1, 2028 – 3.25% 
• July 1, 2029 – 3.0% 

By the end of the agreement’s term, SMART-TD members will have received a compounded increase of more than 18.75%, reinforcing economic security and reflecting members’ essential contributions to America’s freight network. If ratified, retroactive pay provisions will ensure members receive back pay to July 1, 2025. 

Healthcare Benefits Expanded 

The agreement maintains current health and welfare coverage without increases to copays or deductibles. It also expands vision and dental benefits, doubles the monthly opt-out bonus, adds coverage for voluntary male sterilization, and provides a new lower cost HSA eligible option for employee only coverage. Additionally, this TA preserves the current 15% cost-sharing formula for healthcare contributions, along with a freeze on the monthly contribution in effect at the end of the agreement, to prevent carriers from imposing higher contribution rates on employees and their families beyond 2030. 

Vacation and Sick Leave Improvements 

For the first time in more than 25 years, SMART-TD members will see improvements to their national vacation agreement, including: 

• Expanded vacation benefits to provide vacation time for new hires and earlier accrual of vacation time for members with two or more years of service.  
• New opportunities for single-day vacation usage. 
• Commitments to local discussions on securing paid sick leave where they are not currently provided. 

Yardmaster Vacation and Rest Day Improvements 

In addition, Yardmasters will now enjoy the same vacation compensation rules that T&E members have had for decades. Weekly vacation pay will be based on 1/52 of the prior year’s earnings or five (5) basic days’ pay, whichever is greater. Yardmaster vacation pay will also include their earnings from T&E shifts.  

Further, this TA guarantees extraboard Yardmasters scheduled rest days.  

No Meaningful Concessions 

In exchange for these added benefits, Carriers would be able to implement a few healthcare cost containment programs that are designed to work in the background, with no noticeable disruption or substantive changes in coverage for our members. So in essence, we aren’t making any givebacks.  

Leadership Statement

SMART-TD President Jeremy Ferguson hailed the agreement as a turning point for members across the country: 

“This Tentative Agreement secures solid wage increases, protects and expands our healthcare, and achieves quality-of-life improvements that generations of railroaders have fought to obtain. Perhaps the most significant achievement here is that we’ve tentatively secured all of these benefits without making any concessions to the Carriers. We hope that our members will see the significance and value with this tentative agreement, and the decision will soon rest with them in the ratification process.” 

Next Steps: Discussion and Ratification Vote 

As required by the SMART Constitution, we are currently going through a 15-day Q&A period with our rail General Chairpersons. After the Sept. 30 deadline for General Chairpersons to submit their questions, our negotiating team will compile those questions into a single document and return it to the Carriers to create an agreed-upon Q&A list, which will then be included as a part of the agreement.  

Once that process is complete, the finished Tentative Agreement will then be submitted to all involved SMART-TD membership for review and ratification. The ratification process will ensure every member will have the opportunity to make their voice heard on this landmark contract. 

For those railroads who are not party to this Agreement, local on-property discussions will continue until the parties are able to reach a Tentative Agreement, or until an impasse is reached and we proceed to the next step in the Railway Labor Act’s process. We will also be posting news of any developments on these properties in our regular newsletters, whenever they become available.  

The Tentative Agreement can be read in full below.

For media inquiries, please contact: 
SMART-TD Public Relations Department 

Dan Banks 
(216) 227-5283 
dbanks@smart-union.org 

Alyssa Hansen 
alyssa.hansen@smart-union.org 

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