(Bloomberg News circulated the following article on March 1.)
WASHINGTON — U.S. railroads reached a tentative agreement on wages and benefits Wednesday with seven unions representing 66,000 workers, the National Carriers Conference Committee said.
The accord with the unions’ Rail Labor Bargaining Coalition is the first agreement in talks that began in November 2004, the railroad group said. Details weren’t released.
More than 30 railroads are bargaining with 13 rail unions over wages and benefits, the carriers’ committee said.
The committee is an arm of the National Railway Labor Conference and is made up of labor relations officers for carriers such as Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corp. and CSX Corp.
The agreement may set a pattern for resolving negotiations with the remaining unions, including the United Transportation Union, which has called for re-regulation of the rail industry. Federal regulation of the railroads was partly lifted in 1980.