The 2022 general railroad strike is widely regarded as a low point of national labor relations in recent memory. It was put down by an act of Congress to avoid massive supply chain disruptions at Christmastime.
In contrast, the latest round of negotiations was all but over by the end of last year, and with a built-in wage hike for rail workers of 18.8% over five years and capped or reduced employee contributions for healthcare and other benefits.
It’s human nature to always want more, but there are clear signs that rail workers themselves think of this as a pretty good deal.
Freight train cars sit in a Norfolk Southern rail yard in Atlanta, Georgia in 2022. (Danny Karnik/AP)“When you’re at the bar and hear the longshoremen bragging about the $65/per hour they are going to make in 2030, just know that you were pulling in $73.16 two years ago and have had two
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