Amtrak, Sounder Service Restored With Rail Strike Averted

SEATTLE — Indefinite cancellations for Amtrak and Sound Transit commuter trains were averted Thursday after unions representing 115,000 freight railroad workers reached a tentative agreement with BNSF and Union Pacific.

Amtrak preemptively suspended popular long-distance routes — including the Coast Starlight and Cascades lines — anticipating a strike, which would prevent have prevented trains from running on tracks owned by the freight companies. In a brief update shared Thursday, Amtrak officials said they were working to restore previously canceled trips and notify passengers, recommending that people check their ticket status using the railway's website or app.

Sound Transit was poised to cancel Sounder service between Everett, Seattle and Lakewood starting Friday. Following news of Thursday's deal, officials said all trains would operate as normal. About 5,000 people ride Sounder trains each day — down from about 20,000 before the pandemic.

As the Friday strike deadline approached, the railroads and union representatives hammered out a deal in a marathon 20-hour negotiating session at the Labor Department through Wednesday. The five-year deal, retroactive to 2020, includes the 24 percent raises and $5,000 in bonuses that a Presidential Emergency Board recommended this summer. But railroads also agreed to ease their strict attendance policies to address some of the unions’ concerns about working conditions.

Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA) released a statement Thursday morning welcoming the agreement.

"This tentative agreement is an important milestone to prevent a stoppage and keep our railways and our economy running," Murray said. "The agreement would not only deliver rail workers better pay, benefits, and working conditions, but also support rail companies by strengthening our freight rail workforce. This is a win for rail workers and our entire economy."

Railroad workers will now be able to take unpaid days off for doctor’s appointments without being penalized under railroad attendance rules. Previously, workers would lose points under the attendance systems that the BNSF and Union Pacific railways had adopted, and they could be disciplined if they lost all their points.

The unions that represent the conductors and engineers who drive the trains had pressed hard for changes in the attendance rules, and they said this deal sets a precedent that they will be able to negotiate over those kinds of rules in the future. But workers will still have to vote whether those changes are enough to approve the deal.

The tentative agreement resulting from back-and-forth negotiations will go to union members for a vote after a post-ratification cooling-off period of several weeks, but Biden's blessing is a signal that workers were closely involved in the negotiations, The Washington Post reported.

“These rail workers will get better pay, improved working conditions, and peace of mind around their health care costs: all hard-earned,” Biden said in his announcement of the tentative agreement. “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.”

The Associated Press contributed reporting.