ARLINGTON, Va. — Agricultural shippers have urged Congress to prevent a national railroad strike or lockout, which they said would have “devastating consequences to our national and global food security.”
A railroad network shutdown would exacerbate agricultural shipping challenges, which include rail congestion on the big four U.S. systems, record low water levels that have brought Mississippi River barge traffic to a halt, and a shortage of trucks, the National Feed and Grain Association and 192 other members of the Agricultural Transportation Working Group told Congress this week.
Six of the 12 unions representing railroad workers have ratified their contracts with the U.S. Class I railroads, but two have rejected their tentative agreements, and four unions are currently voting on their contracts. A strike by any of the unions would lead to a nationwide freight shutdown, which also would affect most Amtrak service and many commuter rail operations.
“Congressional action will be necessary if the parties fail to reach agreement,” the food and agriculture groups wrote in a Nov. 3 letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif. “Resolution of this dispute prior to Nov. 19 is necessary to ensure rail service continues uninterrupted. Adding urgency to this matter, critical inputs and agricultural products such as ammonia shipments could be embargoed starting on Nov. 14.”
The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, which represents locomotive machinists, track equipment mechanics, and facility maintenance personnel, will announce its balloting results on Saturday. The union rank and file rejected an initial tentative agreement on Sept. 14. Union leaders reached a second tentative agreement with the railroads on Sept. 27.
The NGFA consists of grain, feed, processing, exporting and other grain-related companies that operate more than 8,000 facilities handling U.S. grains and oilseeds.
CHARLES- In my post, I used the word “should” but of course nobody at the top in the BIG Four read these comments that we post and neither does the majority of Americans either. If they did , it would mean new readers or subscribers for TRAINS magazine. The corporate heads at the railroads are only interested in making money and lining their coffers and pockets with that wealth and buying new mansion, or fancy cars or engaging in fancy parties. The average American today don’t even care about trains or railroading. To them a train is something that you read about in the history books or today you google that info. You are right in saying that nobody cares anymore. This country right now is the trainwreck heading off the rails into the abyss of disaster
Joseph C. Markfelder
We need the Republican majority that will likely take over in the near future to pass “right to work” laws on a national level and the unions will go away forever. Then they can pass laws to make sure republicans never loose another election and all our problems will go away.
So…fascism, then? No thank you.
Amtrak, Hunter’s inhuman application on class 1’s require fire or buyout all but the feeble so it matters not what you REALLY think
A railroad strike is another nail in the coffin for any hope of the economy recovering from high prices, war, shortages the pandemic and whatever else might be lurking around the corner. The sad part is most Americans are oblivous to any rail transport. While it is true that a vast majority of goods and services move by truck not all things. Those big containers that come in on container ships carry all the items what the American consumer craves. Electronics, furniture toys all are in those containers. Trucks could never handle the load or replace the intermodal trains that carry these containers. oh and by the way even the latest model automobiles have to travel by train from the manufacturer to the dealer. So a rail strike would be another disaster for our economy not to mention the workers who depend on many commuter rail systems which would also be forced to shut down sine they operate on tracks owned by the striking railroads. Americans should be paying attention to what goes on with the rail workers and how this is all going to turn out either for good or a disaster in the making
Joseph C. Markfelder
JOSEPH —–
Do you ever wonder if someone in each Class One HQ reads these columns and posts such as your own? Apparently not. These people are headed to and over a cliff —– and will take all of us down with them.
It’s real simple then. The railroads will have to accept some sort of compromise on either sick time or unavailable time that doesn’t dock points from their precious availability policies……which they’ve indicated that they will not at all no matter what, so unless they relent or back off their arrogance and stubbornness they will be the ones to blame for a work stoppage not the employees. Mark my words they will undoubtedly spin it off to the moronic media that it’s all the employees fault and they are the innocent victims. Undoubtedly they will tell the world things like they’re getting a hefty raise and so on and so forth yet they will leave out the true reason for a work stoppage that has nothing to do with anything but a little time away from the railroad and work that the rest of the free world has except for railroad operating craft employees. So The ag association,and well the rest that are writing these letters to the government at the request of the railroads better get wise and firmly tell the railroads to get their act together and quit stonewalling the unions on something that they already know won’t cost but a fraction to their bottom lines….. They already have the math outlined in an article from an industry rag and it’s so minor yet they make it sound as if they give us time off then it will bankrupt the railroads and are willing to spread that b.s. to the ones not in the know. I’ve said this many times in these replies that if they don’t do something they’re going to lose far more employees after all this settles and they won’t be able to hire anyone because no one wants to do this for what they demand anymore. The railroad I work for is already getting desperate enough that they’re inviting people they fired years ago to come back to work as well as trainmen and enginemen that are at retirement age an incentive to stay on the job……. That speaks of desperation to me and it’s only going to get worse. Last I heard of all the hiring they’ve supposedly done they’ve netted 35 system wide. That’s pretty telling to me and it should be to the rest of the country.
Well stated Eric. As a retired RR employee (32 years in MofW), I know where you’re coming from and you’re correct in everything you posted. And the RR’s will of course spin this to the layman public that this is all the Union’s fault. However, no one but fellow RRer’s know the sludge you’ve had to wade through over the years. Don’t give in. Solidarity my Brother!!
A strike like this before a new Congress is sworn-in could have major implications on labor law.
Biden forced the delay until after the election so they could garner the votes of losers and lame duckers who would be immune from voter retribution, end of story, no just the beginning of a real threat of and/or lockout