USA Rail strike?

[caravanman]

On a UK railfans website there is discussion about a potential USA rail strike of freight operations around 90 days from now.
Given that Amtrak runs over freight lines, outside of the NEC, is there potential for Amtrak disruption too? I am thinking signal workers, track maintenance, etc?

 

[jiml]

Is the strike still on over there?

 

[caravanman]

Is the strike still on over there?

Yes, several days of disruption. It's not the drivers (engineers) who are on strike, but their higher pay levels are used by the media to say how selfish the highly paid rail workers are...

 

[joelkfla]

Didn't someone just say there's a strike of signal workers in Canada, too?

 

[jis]

On a UK railfans website there is discussion about a potential USA rail strike of freight operations around 90 days from now.
Given that Amtrak runs over freight lines, outside of the NEC, is there potential for Amtrak disruption too? I am thinking signal workers, track maintenance, etc?

Which freight line are they talking about? Different freight railroads have different issues.

The only recent news I have heard regarding strikes is that the BNSF unions have been instructed by the courts that they cannot strike over the recent work rule changes. Admittedly I have not been following this topic too closely.

Meanwhile apparently NJT, a commuter line, workers indulged in a bit of allegedly illegal work action the other day.

The US District Court issued an injunction against the Union (BLE&T) that includes imprisonment of members who absent themselves from work without good reason.

https://www.northjersey.com/story/n...e-court-over-friday-cancellations/7666641001/

 

[Dutchrailnut]

it is almost impossible to have rail strike in USA, read railway labor act and see hom many conditions have to be met and how many waiting periods . violating that law would bankrupt its unions and its employees mostly setting penalties like 4 days pay for every day on strike, and loss of benefits for strike days

 

[caravanman]

NMB Starts Clock Toward Rail Shutdown:

NMB Starts Clock Toward Rail Shutdown - Railway Age

 

[Dutchrailnut]

sure and before that 90 days is over they create a presidential emergency board , and after that runs it cource a second PEB , long way off for a strike.

 

[caravanman]

sure and before that 90 days is over they create a presidential emergency board , and after that runs it cource a second PEB , long way off for a strike.

I have no idea how this stuff works in America, hence my concern to read of a rail strike in 90 days...

 

[jiml]

While I agree this is unlikely to happen and a full shutdown would be extremely brief, it is interesting that if it did Canadian Pacific might be the only "US" Class 1 still operating. How that would even work would be fascinating to watch.

 

[west point]

IMO it will be at least Jan 2023 befoe a strike can even happen. It may be years beforethis will be settled due to the engineer only calss 1s push.

 

[Dutchrailnut]

What was the purpose of the Railway Labor Act?


General Purposes.

The purposes of the RLA are to avoid any interruption of interstate commerce by providing for the prompt disposition of disputes between carriers and their employees and protects the right of employees to organize and bargain collectively.

How does the Railway Labor Act affect unions ability to strike?


The RLA also provides mandatory dispute resolution procedures that preclude strikes over union representation and grievance disputes, and postpones the ability of either party to take action in bargaining disputes until it has completed the process outlined in the Act.

When was the last railroad strike?


There has not been a national railroad strike since 1991. Historically, Congress steps in within hours with legislation ending a national railroad work stoppage, imposing a third-party settlement most often mirroring PEB recommendations.

 

[JontyMort]

Is the strike still on over there?

Yes, it is. It was Tuesday, Thursday (today), and Saturday. Obvious that caused - and was designed to cause - seven days’ chaos for the price of three. They have to give a certain period of notice - not sure when the next one is. This will run for a while IMO.

 

[jis]

Strike authorization vote is taking place, though it does not necessarily mean there will be a strike...

https://ble-t.org/news/ballots-for-...june-24-to-blet-members-at-class-i-railroads/

 

[west point]

The RLA and all its subtlies will not allow any strike bfore 2023. Then congress will act after 1 or 2 days of a strike.

 

[BlackDiamond]

The RLA and all its subtlies will not allow any strike bfore 2023. Then congress will act after 1 or 2 days of a strike.

I wish they had something like this in the UK, where the RMT can randomly call a strike with only a few days notice, meaning people like myself with travel plans and little flexibility in dates are basically screwed.

 

[Dutchrailnut]

strikes are not meant to be convenient to company and passengers or they have no effect .
the RLA has enabled companies to hold unions hostage with losses at end after members basically vote yes to whatever is offered.
it makes negotiating a joke.

 

[BlackDiamond]

strikes are not meant to be convenient to company and passengers or they have no effect .
the RLA has enabled companies to hold unions hostage with losses at end after members basically vote yes to whatever is offered.
it makes negotiating a joke.

With a private company a strike is primarily workers vs. management and management suffers most of the consequences i.e. financial losses due to lack of business. Customers generally have alternatives - if Coke goes on strike they can buy Pepsi.

For a public service such as transit the strike is basically workers vs the public, needing maximum inconvenience to put pressure on government to cave. Government just passes on any increased costs to the taxpayer so they don't have the same incentive as a private company management does. In a place such as the UK transit is a key part of the transport system and loss of it has a big impact unlike the US where it is less of a factor with a few exceptions such as NYC

 

[Dutchrailnut]

https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing...rder-creating-a-presidential-emergency-board/

 

[Mystic River Dragon]

The AP has an article (dated yesterday, so the most recent I’ve seen) saying that 3 of the 12 unions have reached a tentative deal. Not the big two — engineers and conductors— but at least it’s a start.

I am not good at linking, but if you want to read more, search for “3 of 12 Rail Unions Announce Tentative Deal” and it should come up.

Or just google “freight railroad strike 2022” and it should appear as the first article.

 

[trainman74]

This link should work: 3 of 12 rail unions announce tentative deal with 24% raises

 

[Mystic River Dragon]

This link should work: 3 of 12 rail unions announce tentative deal with 24% raises

Yes, that’s it. Thank you.

 

[PaTrainFan]

Not an expert on labor negotiations and certainly want a comprehensive resolution but I am sure nobody wants Congress to induce terms for an agreement. The raises for the two unions seem pretty hefty to me but as much as anything probably reflects the railroads' realities of hiring new employees in this tough environment so they may have felt compelled to be "generous." Be prepared for higher rates and more excuses by shippers to raise the prices of their products.

 

[MARC Rider]

Not an expert on labor negotiations and certainly want a comprehensive resolution but I am sure nobody wants Congress to induce terms for an agreement. The raises for the two unions seem pretty hefty to me but as much as anything probably reflects the railroads' realities of hiring new employees in this tough environment so they may have felt compelled to be "generous." Be prepared for higher rates and more excuses by shippers to raise the prices of their products.

The raises may **seem** generous because they're making up for previous years of insufficient cost of living increases. (Of course, I have no knowledge of actual railroad wage rates, but it seems reasonable based on my own experience of seeing my salary in inflation-adjusted dollars decrease, despite annual pay raises.) And this past year had some pretty stiff inflation not seen since the 1970s.

As for the shippers charging more, well, they don't need any excuses to do what comes naturally to them.

 

[PaTrainFan]

The raises may **seem** generous because they're making up for previous years of insufficient cost of living increases. (Of course, I have no knowledge of actual railroad wage rates, but it seems reasonable based on my own experience of seeing my salary in inflation-adjusted dollars decrease, despite annual pay raises.) And this past year had some pretty stiff inflation not seen since the 1970s.

As for the shippers charging more, well, they don't need any excuses to do what comes naturally to them.

I'm predicting to get dinged for this context, but I'll give it a whirl: Pennsylvania legislators are slated to get a 9.7 percent cost of living raise. That's for one year, and they didn't have to negotiate it. Not bad.