BUFFALO, N.Y. — There’s a rush to avoid a nationwide railroad strike as a few of the country’s railroad unions holds out hope for a better deal despite mounting pressure.
The concern is that restrictions or changes to freight service caused by a lockout or strike could prevent vital resources and raw materials from moving freely, dealing a blow to the supply chain.
As many as eight unions were still working to reach tentative agreements as of Friday. On Monday the group negotiating on behalf of rail workers said that number had been reduced to five, with thirteen needed to prevent a strike.
A few railroad companies including Norfolk Southern signaled that a deal may not be in reach and warned customers last week. Several Class 1 carriers also suspended security-sensitive shipments in preparation.
The White House and business groups have urged the railroads and unions to come to their own deals or accept the terms recommended by a special panel selected by President Biden last month. That Presidential Emergency Board endorsed a five-year deal with 24% raises, retroactive to 2020.
The looming strike deadline is September 16.
“This is more than wages. It comes down to working conditions, oppressive attendance policies, being forced to work all hours of the day and night,” said Michael Paul Lindsey, a railroad engineer for Union Pacific based in Idaho.
Even on the other side of the country, Lindsey explained how his situation is nearly identical to railroad workers stationed in Western New York. Lindsey is a member of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET), which is one of the unions still holding out for a contract. The other is SMART, the Sheet Metal, Air, Rail, and Transportation Workers Union.
“A strike will disrupt Western New York without a doubt,” said Patrick Penfield, a supply chain expert, and Professor at Syracuse University. When asked about what rail services would be impacted, Penfield said everything from Amtrak to CSX – given that SMART and BLET engineers and conductors work in both passenger and freight transport.
Lindsey rattled off a few examples of freight that could be stalled including chlorine for water treatment, poultry, and any Amazon/FedEx/UPS shipments that travel by rail. The Association of American Railroads, a trade group for rail carriers like CSX, Union Pacific and BNSF has said the economic impact of a strike would be equal to $2 billion per day.
“The rail industry hauls an amount of freight in the background that you don't see, and most people aren’t aware of,” Lindsey said.
Penfield added, “there’s a lot of concern because there is no extra capacity to make up when the railroads go on strike either."
The federal law governing railroad contract talks won't allow a strike or lockout before Friday. The last time a railroad strike occurred was in 1992, it lasted only two days. Congress and then President George H.W. Bush acted to impose a contract back then. The same could play out under the Biden administration.