Eastern railroad CSX late Friday announced it had reached tentative agreements on new contracts with seven additional unions, just days after agreeing to pacts with an initial five unions.

The new contracts underscore the growing power of labor as employers struggle to staff workforces following the pandemic, and came shortly after Norfolk Southern and BNSF said they had negotiated similar early contracts with a number of their unions. The early pacts also avoid the kind of labor disruptions currently roiling Canadian National and Canadian Pacific Kansas City.

The CSX (NASDAQ: CSX) agreements, which must be ratified by rank-and-file members, cover the Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employes Division of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters (BMWED); the International Association of Machinists & Aerospace Workers (IAM); The International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers – Transportation Division (SMART-TD), covering yardmasters; the Brotherhood of Railway Carmen (BRC) covering carmen at the Fruit Growers Express Company subsidiary of CSX; the Transportation Communications Union (TCU) covering the clerical craft at Fruit Growers Express; the American Railway and Airway Supervisors’ Association (ARASA) covering mechanical department supervisors and the B&O Joint Council (BOJC) covering mechanical department foremen/supervisors.

CSX President and Chief Executive Joe Hinrichs in the announcement said, “We are incredibly pleased to have reached these tentative agreements ahead of the re-negotiation process, reflecting our strong commitment to collaboration with our union partners. These agreements are a testament to the hard work and dedication of all parties involved, ensuring a bright future for our workforce and the sustained success of CSX operations. Together, as ONE CSX, we are building a path forward that benefits our employees, our customers, and the communities we serve.”

The tentative five-year agreements were reached more than four months before the current collective agreements become amendable under the federal Railway Labor Act. The new deals in total cover more than half of the company’s union employees, and provide equivalent packages of improved wages, healthcare, and paid time off benefits. Those earlier deals call for average wage increases of 3.5% per year and “improvements” in paid vacation and health care.

The railroad said it remains committed to working with other unions and crafts to reach similar agreements over the coming days.

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