Exclusive-Biden’s emergency board recommends up to 7% rail worker pay raises

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. President Joe Biden’s emergency board tasked with helping major freight railroads and unions end a contract negotiation stalemate on Tuesday proposed annual wage increases of between 4% and 7% through 2024, according to a report seen by Reuters.

The board also recommended in its 119-page report a 3% increase for 2020 and 3.5% for 2021, when the rail workers did not have a contract, along with five $1,000 annual bonuses and an additional paid day off.

Talks between major freight railroads, including Union Pacific, Berkshire Hathaway-owned BNSF, and CSX, and unions representing 115,000 workers have dragged on for more than two years.

(Reporting by David Shepardson and Lisa Baertlein; Editing by Leslie Adler)