Rail CEO Rethinks Labor Deal Approach

CSX boss opts to negotiate directly with unions, skipping coalition bargaining

- ESTHER FUNG

It took three years for freight railroads and unions to agree on their last labor deal, which was reached in late 2022 only after Congress and the White House stepped in to block a national strike. That contract lapses this week.

CSX Chief Executive Joe Hinrichs broke from his peers in 2024 to avert another dragged out negotiation-during which workers went years without raises and bosses were reprimanded by regulators about poor service.

"I believe it's in the industry's interest not to repeat this again," Hinrichs said in a recent interview. The former Ford Motor executive took over CSX in September 2022 and was thrust into the prior labor dispute.

Rather than wait for national collective bargaining sessions, CSX started in early 2024 to negotiate directly with the various unions that represent its workers. Union Pacific did, too. The companies reached some tentative agreements months before the old contract expired.

Most of the new agreements are five-year contracts that provide roughly 19% in compounded wage increases and greater flexibility for workers to take time off earlier in their careers. The prior contract offered 24% in wage increases over five years.