PEB recommendations ‘fall short’ of labor’s concerns, union leader says

(Source: Progressive Railroading 08/22/2022)

Although the Presidential Emergency Board’s (PEB) recommendations for a contract settlement between the railroads and unions were a “vast improvement” over the carriers’ previous proposals, they do not go far enough to address labor’s quality-of-life concerns, SMART-TD President Jeremy Ferguson said last week.

When the United Rail Unions leaders last month delivered their presentations to the PEB, they expressed the need for improvements to quality-of-life issues, including addressing the carriers’ attendance policies as well as the need for paid and scheduled time off, Ferguson said in a prepared statement sent to the union’s membership.

“Truthfully, your union negotiators feel a level of disappointment with the PEB’s recommendations falling short on many of our requests,” said Ferguson.

And although the PEB recommended what would be the largest compensation raise that rail labor has received in 47 years, “it falls well short of our proposed benchmark to provide our members … a rate of pay of which they are deserving and that will attract new talent,” he said.

SMART-TD leaders are evaluating the recommendations and what the unions’ options may be. The members of the rail union coalition will meet with the rail carriers’ representatives “in the very near future to determine if a possible tentative agreement can be reached” based on the PEB’s recommendations, Ferguson added.

The PEB presented its recommendations to President Joe Biden last week.