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Recent Developments

6/10/2008
UTU Ratifies Accord with Freight Railroads
Members of the United Transportation Union (UTU) have approved a new national agreement with the nation's major freight railroads, joining eleven other unions that had previously reached final agreements on new contracts.

1/24/2008
Freight Railroads Reach Accord with UTU
The nation’s major freight railroads and the United Transportation Union (UTU) reached tentative agreement Wednesday on a new contractcovering wages, benefits and other issues.

9/19/2007
Four More Unions Ratify Accord with Freight Railroads
Members of four more unions have ratified new agreements with the nation's major railroads, joining seven other unions that have reached final agreements on new contracts.

8/30/2007
Train Dispatchers Ratify Accord with Freight Railroads
Members of the American Train Dispatchers Association (ATDA) have ratified a new agreement with the nation's major railroads, joining eleven other unions that have reached final or tentative agreements on new contracts.

7/17/2007
Five More Unions Reach Agreement with Freight Railroads
With the help of National Mediation Board Mediator Ernie DuBester, the nation's major freight railroads reached a tentative agreement Tuesday with five rail labor unions representing about 30,000 unionized employees. The agreements, which now go to members for ratification, would bring to 12 the number of unions that have reached agreements with the railroads.

6/25/2007
Coalition Unions Ratify Accord with Freight Railroads
Members of six of the seven unions that represent approximately half of the unionized employees in the freight railroad industry have ratified new agreements with the nation's major railroads, setting a pattern for contract settlements with the unions still remaining in negotiations.

5/15/2007
Seven Unions Begin Voting on Tentative Agreement
The seven rail unions that comprise the Rail Labor Bargaining Coalition have begun the process of ratifying the tentative agreement reached in February with the nation's major freight railroads. The unions are mailing ballots to their members and expect to conclude the ratification process in late June. The Coalition represents more than 66,000 workers or about 46 percent of rail employees covered in negotiations that began in November 2004.

4/03/2007
Railroads Declare UTU Calls for Reregulation "Misguided"
In a statement April 3, the Association of American Railroads (AAR) said "reregulation would devastate the freight rail system by making it virtually impossible" for railroads to invest to meet the nation's growing freight transportation demands.

2/28/2007
Railroads Reach Accord with Seven-Union Coalition
The nation's major freight railroads and a coalition of seven rail unions reached tentative agreement Wednesday on a new contract covering wages, benefits and other issues. The agreement with the Rail Labor Bargaining Coalition is the first to have been reached in the current round of bargaining.

2/1/2007
Negotiations with UTU Reach Impasse
Despite two years of intense negotiations, the nation's major freight railroads have reached an impasse in the current bargaining round with the UTU. However, negotiators for the railroads have not yet made a decision as to when they will seek a release from mediation. The railroads have made a number of significant concessions during the current bargaining round.

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