Reuters is reporting that the White House emergency board working to help unions and major freight railroads breakthrough a contract negotiation stalemate has proposed on Tuesday that union workers be offered annual wage increases ranging from 4% up to 7% through 2024.
In its 199 page report, the board also recommended a 3% retroactive pay increase for 2020, and a 3.5% increase for 2021, along with five $1,000 annual bonuses and an additional payoff, to cover a period when the rail workers did not have a contract.
The board was formed as talks between major freight railroads, including Union Pacific, Berkshire Hathaway-owned BNSF, and CSX, and unions representing 115,000 workers stalled after more than two years of negotiations. In averting a strike, the board allowed the sides to take a cooling off period, followed by additional negotiation in light of the board’s report and recommendations.