Thanks to the railroads’ success, railroad employees continue to rank among the nation’s most highly compensated workers. They enjoy secure, well-paying jobs; in fact, the average rail employee’s compensation is higher than the average compensation of 90% of all U.S. workers.[1] Rail employees’ compensation is not only high relative to their peers’, but it is high relative to inflation – in the last decade, unionized rail employees have enjoyed real wage growth (wage growth in excess of inflation) of 7.4%.
Railroad employees also enjoy longer careers than their counterparts in other industries. Railroad employee tenure averages more than 17 years, with a median of close to 13 years; this median is significantly higher than that of most other workers. For comparison, the median transportation and warehousing employee tenure is five years; manufacturing, six years; and private industry, four years. [2]
To read about the railroads’ health care plan, click here.