Railroad Strike

[Nemo]

Might be an issue.

Nemo

https://thehill.com/policy/3636564-how-a-railroad-strike-could-send-food-prices-soaring/

Policy
How a railroad strike could send food prices soaring
by Karl Evers-Hillstrom - 09/10/22 5:59 AM ET



The nation?s supply of food could take a hit if railroad workers go on strike, driving up prices at the grocery store and limiting U.S. grain exports to countries facing famine. 

As soon as next week, 115,000 freight rail workers could walk out if they cannot reach a new contract with railroads, potentially shutting down the national rail network that transports 20 percent of all grain shipments.

While unions say they want to avert a strike, and Congress has the power to block it, the U.S. food sector is rattled by the prospect of a national railroad shutdown in the middle of peak harvest season.   
A ?devastating ripple effect?

Even a short-lived interruption ?would create a devastating ripple effect? on the nation?s fragile supply chains, said Lee Sanders, senior vice president of government relations and public affairs at the American Bakers Association. 

?Rail-dependent facilities would be unable to receive materials and ingredients, and millions of Americans a day would be unable to receive the baked goods they rely on to feed themselves, their families, and communities,? she said. 

A railroad shutdown in mid-September would quickly overwhelm grain storage facilities, leaving farmers with few options to store their crops and boosting the chance of spoilage. Many grain processors would shut down, raising the price of bread and other common items, while farmers would be saddled with huge crop quantities and lower commodity prices. 

?It?s kind of a double whammy when you hit both the beginning and the end of the supply chain,? said Max Fisher, chief economist at the National Grain and Feed Association.

Freight railroads also carry roughly half of fertilizer, and farmers can?t afford delays, according to a Wednesday letter to congressional leaders from The Fertilizer Institute.

?If farmers do not receive fertilizer, it results in lower crop yields, higher food prices, and more inflation for consumers,? Corey Rosenbusch, the group?s CEO, told lawmakers. 

Soaring food costs ? which agricultural groups blame partially on existing railroad disruptions ? have hit American families particularly hard. Grocery prices rose 13.1 percent over the last year ending in July, the largest annual increase in more than four decades, according to Labor Department data. 

There typically isn?t a backup plan for crops that are transported by rail, particularly when the trucking industry is already struggling to keep pace with demand. The same goes for coal, crude oil, steel, lumber, car parts and other items frequently loaded onto freight trains.

A nationwide railroad work stoppage would cost the U.S. economy more than $2 billion per day and cause shipping containers to stack up at ports, according to estimates from the Association of American Railroads.
Grain exports and global food security

Because roughly one-third of U.S. grain exports travel by rail, a work stoppage would also cut down on America?s ability to ship food to foreign nations, particularly those in East Africa and the Middle East that face a risk of famine following Russia?s invasion of Ukraine. 

A coalition of food and agricultural groups, including the American Farm Bureau Federation, urged lawmakers on Thursday to block a freight rail strike, warning that it would have ?devastating consequences? for global food security. 

?Congress must be willing to act to ensure our farmers and ranchers can continue to help feed the world,? the groups wrote in a letter to the top lawmakers on transportation committees. 

The United Nations estimates that the number of people facing acute food insecurity has risen from 145 million to 345 million since 2019, and 50 million people in 45 countries are nearing famine. 

Russia blocked off Ukraine?s access to the Black Sea at the onset of the invasion, cutting off nations that rely on Ukraine to provide large shipments of grain and cooking oil.

The warring countries signed a deal to open up Black Sea shipments in July, but Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday criticized the agreement, prompting fears that he could abandon it entirely.
What lies ahead 

U.S. rail workers could legally strike as soon as Sept. 16 after the White House-appointed Presidential Emergency Board (PEB) released recommendations last month meant to bring railroads and unions closer to a deal.

Five unions have reached tentative agreements with railroads on a new contract based on the PEB recommendations, which call for 24 percent raises over five years and back pay but don?t address workers? concerns about grueling hours and limited time off.

The bulk of rail workers belong to unions that haven?t struck a deal. And a recent online survey from grassroots group Railroad Workers United found that more than 9 in 10 railroad workers would vote to reject the PEB recommendations and go on strike. 

If workers vote for a strike, Congress would likely intervene to block it. They could then vote to fast-track a new contract. Railroads, retailers, growers and other industries are largely urging lawmakers to simply implement the terms laid out by the PEB. 
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Still, some business groups are worried about the prospect of a slow congressional response to a rail walkout, driven either by lawmakers? inexperience with the issue or political games ahead of the midterms.

The Biden administration, eager to avoid more economic disruption just before November, is pushing unions and railroads to secure an agreement before the issue comes before Congress. Labor Secretary Marty Walsh joined a negotiation session Wednesday before the National Mediation Board. 

?We are confident the parties will make every effort to negotiate in good faith toward a mutually acceptable solution, and we urge both sides to do so promptly,? a White House official said in an email.

[JohnyMac]

A good friend of UP and a frequent participant on the ERIN net, is a retired Rail Road worker. He warned me about the coming strike back in May, which I may have written about back then.

Once Friday September 16th arrives, RR workers are allowed to walk out on strike legally. Similar to air traffic controllers, RR workers can only strike after a "cooling down period" which I think is 60-days. During that period negotiations are put on an accelerator in hopes coming to an agreement.

With the August CPI coming out Tuesday, and a possible walk-out on our RR system, next week could be memorable.

Stay tuned 

 

[Nemo]

Looks like strike will be happening.

Nemo


https://www.foxbusiness.com/industrials/white-house-braces-possible-nationwide-rail-strike

Industrials
Published September 12, 2022 5:05pm EDT
White House braces for possible nationwide rail strike
US could lose $2B of daily economic output from work stoppage
By Ernie Sadashige , Jacqui Heinrich FOXBusiness

The White House is preparing for a possible nationwide rail strike as two major unions that have not agreed to a new contract accuse railroad companies of "corporate terrorism."

A White House official told FOX Business that President Biden is personally tracking the issue, and Labor Secretary Marty Walsh is involved in talks.

"The fact that we are already seeing some impacts of contingency planning by railways again demonstrates that a shutdown of our freight rail system is an unacceptable outcome for our economy and the American people, and all parties must work to avoid that," a Labor Department spokesperson told FOX Business.
A BNSF train pulls out of yard

A BNSF rail terminal worker monitors the departure of a freight train, on June 15, 2021, in Galesburg, Ill. ((AP Photo/Shafkat Anowar, File) / AP Newsroom)

The American Association of Railroads estimates a work stoppage could cost more than $2 billion per day in lost economic output by idling more than 7,000 long-distance Class I trains per day ? in addition to short line, passenger and commuter trains.

A strike could come as early as just after midnight Friday.

The leaders of the Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers (SMART) Transportation Division and the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET) Teamsters Rail Conference said over the weekend that major railroad firms "began warning major shippers" late last Friday "that they are declaring an embargo on certain types of new shipments five days in advance of the end of the federally mandated cooling off period."

"The railroads are using shippers, consumers, and the supply chain of our nation as pawns in an effort to get our Unions to cave into their contract demands knowing that our members would never accept them." the unions said. "Our Unions will not cave into these scare tactics, and Congress must not cave into what can only be described as corporate terrorism."

A Union Pacific rail car is parked at the Canadian Pacific Railway (CP Rail) Toronto Yard in Scarborough, Ontario, Canada March 20, 2022. (Reuters/Chris Helgren)

PLAN TO GET RAILROAD CONTRACT DISPUTE MOVING INVOLVES 24% RAISES

SMART and BLET are two of the four unions that have not agreed to the current deal proposed by a Presidential Emergency Board (PEB) appointed by President Biden. If an agreement is not reached by the deadline, a strike or lockout could occur, in which case, Congress is expected to get involved.

"The parties continue to negotiate, and last night Secretary Walsh again engaged to push the parties to reach a resolution that averts any shutdown of our rail system. This followed on dozens of calls from the President?s Cabinet and top Administration officials, and months of Administration efforts. All parties need to stay at the table, bargain in good faith to resolve outstanding issues, and come to an agreement," a Labor Department spokesperson told FOX Business.

GET FOX BUSINESS ON THE GO BY CLICKING HERE

The PEB is proposing a deal that would provide 24% cumulative raises and thousands in additional bonuses over a five-year contract covering some 115,000 rail workers. The rail companies and eight out of 12 unions have agreed to the plan, but the holdouts argue that it does not go far enough to protect railroad employees and address their working conditions.
Ticker    Security    Last    Change    Change %
CNI    CANADIAN NATIONAL RAILWAY CO.    123.95    +1.94    +1.59%
CP    CANADIAN PACIFIC RAILWAY LTD.    79.81    +1.52    +1.94%
CSX    CSX CORP.    32.84    +0.21    +0.64%
NSC    NORFOLK SOUTHERN CORP.    250.58    +0.73    +0.29%
UNP    UNION PACIFIC CORP.    234.16    +2.28    +0.98%

FOX Business' Jacqui Heinrich and Breck Dumas contributed to this report.

[Nemo]

Disaster averted.

Nemo


https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/railway-companies-unions-reach-tentative-agreement/ar-AA11Rnlx

Railway companies, unions reach tentative agreement
19m ago


 American railway companies and unions have reached a tentative labor agreement amid the threat of strikes.

U.S. Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh announced the news on Twitter early Thursday, "following more than 20 consecutive hours of negotiations at" his office in Washington, D.C. He said the tentative agreement "balances the needs of workers, businesses, and our nation's economy."

"The Biden Administration applauds all parties for reaching this hard-fought, mutually beneficial deal," Walsh added. "Our rail system is integral to our supply chain, and a disruption would have had catastrophic impacts on industries, travelers and families across the country."
MORE: Potential rail strike could have 'significant detrimental effects,' supply chain expert says

U.S. President Joe Biden released a statement early Thursday, calling the tentative agreement "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," Biden said. "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."

 The president thanked the rail companies and unions as well as Walsh and other officials in his administration, noting that the deal will "keep our critical rail system working and avoid disruption of our economy."

"As a result, we will keep Americans on the job in all the industries in this country that are touched by this vital industry," he added. "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."

Details were not disclosed about the tentative agreement, which came ahead of Friday's strike deadline.

Passenger railroad service Amtrak told ABC News in a statement Thursday that it "is working to quickly restore canceled trains and reaching out to impacted customers to accommodate on first available departures."
MORE: Looming railroad strike could cripple US economy, transportation

A potential strike could lead to $2 billion a day in lost economic output, according to the Association of American Railroads, which lobbies on behalf of railway companies. Rail is critical to the entire goods side of the economy, including agriculture, manufacturing, retail and warehousing. Freight railroads are responsible for transporting 40% of the nation's long-haul freight -- and a work stoppage could endanger those shipments.

 Prior to Thursday's tentative agreement, unions said that workers were seeking improvements to working conditions, accusing rail companies of penalizing workers for taking time off for medical reasons. The unions also said that rail companies were jeopardizing the country's economy to force a deal.

The National Carriers' Conference Committee (NCCC), which represents the U.S. freight railroads in national collective bargaining, said rail employees are provided "significant" time off and that the companies have offered a fair contract that includes a significant wage increase.

[JohnyMac]

Yupper. PPOTUS swooped in and saved the day. Now this was after the Dept. of Labor walked away from the negotiations at the beginning of August.

Does anybody suspect that at the last minute, The White House stepped in for promotional reasons? Only 53-days to the midterms. 

[grizz]

Yupper. PPOTUS swooped in and saved the day. Now this was after the Dept. of Labor walked away from the negotiations at the beginning of August.

Does anybody suspect that at the last minute, The White House stepped in for promotional reasons? Only 53-days to the midterms. 

trying to buy votes...

[JohnyMac]

Yupper Grizzz