The 2025 round of national handling was the fastest in decades, closing in only 18 months.
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Find answers to your questions about the freight rail industry and our collective bargaining process.
What’s the status of the 2025 bargaining round?
The 2025 round of national handling was the fastest in decades, closing in only 18 months.
What is pattern bargaining? Why is it important?
Pattern bargaining is a foundational principle of Railway Labor Act negotiations. Once a pattern is set, adherence to the pattern promotes consistency for employees, operational certainty for carriers, and long-term stability for the industry. In the 2025 round, dozens of national and local agreements with consistent terms established an early pattern. The terms of the pattern provided a clear path for resolution of the national bargaining round by all remaining participants.
What is the Railway Labor Act?
The Railway Labor Act (RLA) is a federal statute that has governed collective bargaining between freight railroads and rail labor organizations for nearly 100 years. Unlike agreements in most other industries, rail labor agreements under the RLA remain effective indefinitely until changed by mutual agreement. The RLA includes a structured process for good faith bargaining and safeguards designed to prevent service disruptions that could impact the U.S. economy.
How long does the bargaining process take?
The duration of the process can vary. Some agreements are reached quickly, while others may go through each stage of the RLA process. The 2025 round of national handling was the fastest in decades, closing in only 18 months.
What is the difference between national and local bargaining?
“National” agreements between multiple freight railroads and a labor union typically address significant issues such as wages, health benefits and industry-wide work rules. These agreements are negotiated on a multi-employer basis and apply to all employees represented by the signatory carriers and union. “Local” agreements only apply to employees in one craft at a specific railroad (or even parts of a railroad) and usually address carrier-specific working conditions.
What is a “Section 6 notice?” What does it mean for employees?
Under the RLA, collective bargaining agreements do not expire and instead have “reopener” dates. On and after those dates, parties can start new negotiations by exchanging “Section 6 notices,” so-named because the notices are issued pursuant to Section 6 of the RLA. These notices outline proposed contractual changes and mark the beginning of the collective bargaining process. While the negotiations move forward, the current contract remains in force.
When did national negotiations start and end?
The national collective bargaining agreements between freight rail carriers and rail unions reopened for negotiation starting on November 1, 2024. At that time, “Section 6 notices” were exchanged and bargaining began. Bargaining closed when the last participating union announced its ratification on July 6, 2026.
Who are the parties involved in national railroad bargaining?
The most recent round of bargaining included more than 30 railroads represented by the National Carriers’ Conference Committee and 12 rail unions:
What are the key terms included in the pattern bargaining agreements?
Key highlights of these pattern agreements included:
Are wage increases included in the pattern agreements?
Yes. Class I railroad employees have long been among the highest-paid workers across U.S. industries.
The 2022 national agreements resulted in a historic 24% wage increase over five years (2020–2024). Today, most Class I rail employees earn between $90,000 to $140,000 in annual wages (depending on their craft), with an average annual wage of $111,000. Including the value of retirement, sickness and health care benefits, the average annual compensation is approximately $160,000.
Building on this foundation, the 2025 pattern agreements provide an additional 18.8% wage increase through 2029. Taken together with the 2022 agreements, these increases represent a nearly 50% compounded wage gain for covered employees between 2020 and 2029. Under the terms of the 2025 pattern agreements, average annual wages are projected to rise to about $135,000 by the end of 2029 – and the average value of total compensation packages would increase to about $190,000.
How long does the average employee work in the railroad industry?
Railroading has presented an opportunity for generations of Americans to turn a job into a lifelong career. The median tenure in the freight rail industry is three times longer than the private sector, with unionized rail employees having a median tenure of more than 13 years. By comparison, the median tenure for private sector workers is 4.1 years according to the U.S. Department of Labor.
