Metra says train lines will resume as scheduled after tentative agreement reached by rail workers

CHICAGO (CBS)– Metra says train lines will resume as scheduled after rail workers reached a tentative agreement Thursday morning.  

Overnight, the White House announced a tentative deal has been reached between the nation’s freight railroad companies and three railroad labor unions.

The tentative agreement averts a strike that had been set to begin Friday, and would have brought approximately 7,000 trains to a stop nationwide, including Metra, which was preparing to suspend service on four of its lines beginning Thursday evening.

Metra announced Thursday morning that it will resume normal scheduled service on all of its affected lines, much to the relief of the people who work for Metra, as well as those who ride it, including one young woman who wasn’t sure at first how she was getting home Thursday night.

“I was just going to have my dad maybe drive me, but he also has to go to work, so I don’t really know what my plan would have been. Uber,” Metra passenger Grace Knowski said.

Metra released the following statement:

“We are happy to report that in the overnight hours a tentative agreement was reached between freight railroads and their unions, averting a strike that could have started tonight and halted service on the BNSF and three Union Pacific lines. We are greatly relieved that we will be able to continue to provide the safe and reliable service that you deserve and that you rely upon. Please accept our apologies for this week of uncertainty and anxiety, and our thanks for your patience and understanding. The late Thursday evening trains that had been cancelled by BNSF and Union Pacific in anticipation of a strike will now run as scheduled.”

“We were kind of expecting today to be a day of uncertainty, and a lot of juggling, and it seems like we can put the balls down, and get on with the business of Metra … for now,” Metra spokesman Michael Gillis said.

The tentative deal must be ratified by the unions’ members. A source familiar with the labor talks told CBS News that the negotiating parties had agreed to a “post-ratification cooling off period” of several weeks, to make sure that there isn’t an immediate rail shutdown if a vote doesn’t succeed for any reason.  

Unions representing freight train workers, conductors, and engineers have said they’re fighting for better quality of life, after feeling burned out and not being compensated fairly, sometimes working 7-day weeks.

The U.S. Secretary of Labor said the two sides spent 20 consecutive hours negotiating before reaching that tentative deal Thursday morning.

According to the National Carriers’ Conference Committee, which represents the nation’s freight railroads, the tentative deal includes an immediate 14.1% pay raise for 60,000 railroad employees represented by three railroad unions, a total 24% pay raise from 2020 through 2024, and five annual $1,000 lump sum payments.

Significantly, all workers will get an extra paid day off and have the ability to take time off for medical reasons, one of the key demands the unions made over the course of negotiations.

“For the first time, our unions were able to obtain negotiated contract language exempting time off for certain medical events from carrier attendance policies,” the union chiefs said.

Amtrak, who had said their long-distance trains were going to be suspended starting Thursday, said they’re working quickly to restore service to those trains, and are in the process of reaching out to impacted passengers.

President Biden also released a statement about the tentative deal:

“The tentative agreement reached tonight is an important win for our economy and the American people. It is a win for tens of thousands of rail workers who worked tirelessly through the pandemic to ensure that America’s families and communities got deliveries of what have kept us going during these difficult years. These rail workers will get better pay, improved working conditions, and peace of mind around their health care costs: all hard-earned. The agreement is also a victory for railway companies who will be able to retain and recruit more workers for an industry that will continue to be part of the backbone of the American economy for decades to come.

I thank the unions and rail companies for negotiating in good faith and reaching a tentative agreement that will keep our critical rail system working and avoid disruption of our economy.

I am grateful for the hard work that Secretaries Walsh, Buttigieg, and Vilsack, and NEC Director Deese put into reaching this tentative agreement. I especially want to thank Secretary Walsh for his tireless, around-the-clock efforts that delivered a win for the hard working people of the US rail industry: as a result, we will keep Americans on the job in all the industries in this country that are touched by this vital industry.

For the American people, the hard work done to reach this tentative agreement means that our economy can avert the significant damage any shutdown would have brought. With unemployment still near record lows and signs of progress in lowering costs, tonight’s agreement allows us to continue to fight for long term economic growth that finally works for working families.”