For Immediate Release: September 1, 2022

Contact: Matt Spence  202-728-6014

IBEW Reaches Tentative Agreement with NCCC

The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers has reached a tentative agreement with the National Carriers’ Conference Committee, representing most Class I Freight Railroads in collective bargaining.

The agreement includes all the recommendations of the Presidential Emergency Board 250, which President Joe Biden named in July to recommend a settlement to contract negotiations between rail labor and the NCCC.

The agreement includes a 24% general compounded wage increase – effective July 1, 2020 – over the next five years and an annual $1,000 service recognition bonus.

These are the biggest wage increases in 47 years.

“I want to thank the IBEW’s rail bargaining team members for their hard work and patience in coming to this agreement,” said IBEW International President Lonnie Stephenson. “I also want to acknowledge President Biden and the members of the PEB for their efforts to bring management and labor together to negotiate a fair contract. It’s been a long and tough process, but we’ve finally reached an agreement that achieves more than 70% of what we were asking for, including historic wage gains for our railroad members.”

The agreement ensures no additional design changes to the health and welfare plan but puts a reset on the employee cost of the plan. There are also multiple improvements to it, increasing the annual maximum for hearing benefits from $600 to $2,000, removing age limits on speech therapy, and providing coverage for applied behavioral analysis with age or dollar limits for those with autism spectrum disorder.

The agreement also contains an additional paid personal day per year.

“The freight rail industry is crucial to our economy, and the men and women who keep it moving deserve a fair deal. We didn’t win everything we wanted, but this agreement is a step in the right direction, and we recommend members support it,” said Stephenson.

Ratification ballots will be mailed to every IBEW freight rail member and counted on Sept. 28.

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The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) represents approximately 775,000 members and retirees who work in a wide variety of fields, including construction, utilities, manufacturing, telecommunications, broadcasting, railroads and government.