WASHINGTON – The National Industrial Transportation League, the largest and oldest group of rail shippers, has asked congressional leaders to prevent a railroad strike or lockout that could begin as early as 12:01 a.m. on Friday.
Meanwhile, the Class I railroads today reached a tentative agreement with the National Conference of Firemen & Oilers, SEIU, the ninth such deal reached with rail labor since the Presidential Emergency Board issued its contract recommendations last month.
The unions representing locomotive engineers, conductors, yardmasters, and signal workers have yet to reach tentative deals with the railroads’ negotiating arm, the National Carriers’ Conference Committee. Although negotiations continue – and President Joe Biden and members of his cabinet talked with rail and labor leaders on Monday – the two sides seem far apart.
On Monday the head of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen told CNBC that the biggest stumbling block was the controversial attendance policies at BNSF Railway and Union Pacific. BNSF denied that, and UP said it continued to work toward a deal with labor unions.
Fragile supply chains can’t handle even a one-day freight rail work stoppage, the NIT League warned.
“NITL members and shippers of all sizes in all regions continue experiencing dismal freight rail service due primarily to the implementation of Precision Scheduled Railroading. Any disruption in freight rail service will negatively impact our nation’s international competitiveness while making inflation even worse which is affecting all Americans,” Nancy O’Liddy, executive director of the NIT League, wrote in a Sept. 12 letter to congressional leaders.
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce on Monday warned that a strike would be an “economic disaster.”
Shippers were bracing for the possibility of a strike or lockout as railroads began issuing embargoes on certain kinds of freight, including hazmat and some perishables, in advance of the Friday deadline.
“NITL members are being drastically affected by such uncertainty including having to plan and prepare for possible commodity embargoes now,” “The sooner Congress acts, should the situation arise, the better it will be for shippers to deploy contingency plans including working with their customers and the communities they serve, as NITL members represent billions of dollars freight movements to our nation’s economy,” O’Liddy wrote.
A strike or lockout also would affect Amtrak service outside the Northeast Corridor, as well as service on several commuter railroads. Short lines also would be affected as interchange with their Class I connections stop.
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