Usa: railway workers strike, the country freezes?
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The strike by US railway workers scheduled for tomorrow risks paralyzing freight and passenger traffic and further spike inflation. The Biden administration is considering executive action to try to avoid the stop of transport. Labor Secretary Marty Walsh organized a meeting with railroad and union leaders in Washington to avoid the impending strike. The last strike of the railway workers in the USA dates back to thirty years ago, in 1992.
The administration of President Joe Biden said it has prepared contingency plans to ensure deliveries of critical goods in the event of a blockade of the US rail system, putting pressure on the railways and unions to reach an agreement to avoid a work stoppage with repercussions on freight and passenger services. The Department of Labor said the meeting was the latest in the Biden administration's sustained commitments and concrete efforts to encourage the parties to reach a mutually beneficial agreement. Negotiations focus on vacation and sick days, with US railroad workers complaining that they sometimes have to work long hours due to staff shortages.
According to reports from the Washington Post, the crucial issue that prevents an agreement is the policies of presence at points of some of the major carriers that penalize workers, up to dismissal, for routine medical visits or for family emergencies. Drivers and engineers say they can be on call for 14 consecutive days without a break and that they don't get a single sick day, paid or unpaid. More than 100,000 railroad workers could go on strike tomorrow for the first time since 1992 if there is no agreement by today, when the federal cooling-off period expires, unless Congress intervenes. Among them are employees of major North American transportation companies, such as Union Pacific, CSX and BNSF, a company owned by Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway. On Tuesday evening, ten of the 12 unions in talks with the bargaining committees had reached an interim agreement. But two opposed after nearly three years of fruitless negotiations, and members of a third on Wednesday voted to reject their deal. The unions have threatened to strike even if one of them is left without an agreement.
The rail system guarantees 24% of grain shipments to the United States. Since Monday, the railways have stopped accepting shipments of dangerous materials such as chlorine and chemicals used in fertilizers, to prevent them from getting stuck in unsafe places in the event of a disruption to railway traffic. The Financial Times reports that business groups have warned that a strike could cripple supply chains, drive up food prices and make it impossible to restock store shelves and run factories. The US Chamber of Commerce called it a national economic disaster. The Association of Corn Refiners and the National Association of Corn Farmers said a job stoppage would paralyze US agricultural production and supply chains and exacerbate food price inflation.
The US energy sector relies on railways to move coal, crude oil, ethanol and other products. US Amtrak Passenger Rail, which uses tracks maintained by freight railways, is already facing increasing disruption.
References:
https://www.ft.com/content/e78a3f84-6a69-4697-ab25-c35e332f0cef
https://www.theguardian.com/business/2022/sep/14/us-railroad-strike-union-pacific-bnsf
https://www.washingtonpost.com/us-policy/2022/09/14/congress-freight-rail-strike/
