Catherwood LibraryILR School

Contract negotiations between freight companies and labor unions are typically done through national handling, where various freight companies jointly negotiate as a national coalition with labor unions. This year however, CSX and Union Pacific have chosen to opt out of the national handling process, and will instead individually negotiate a new collective bargaining agreement with the union representing the company’s workers. The negotiations will occur in a hyper-local manner, where the company will negotiate with each individual local union. CSX and Union Pacific states that local negotiations will allow the parties to better focus on customers, local service, and increasing the efficiency of operations. Other major freight companies, including Norfolk Southern, BNSF, and Canadian National Railway will continue to participate in contract negotiations as a national coalition. These freight companies will work to reach a national deal with union workers, but have also reached various agreements with local unions already, a strategy that has not previously been used before.