Posted on 09/12/2022 4:33:19 PM PDT by ransomnote
ransomnote: see post #1 for potential impacts on crude oil shipments
A paralyzing railroad strike that has been brewing since January 2020 may unfold this week. Even if it does not come to pass, railroads had already begun preparations Monday by curtailing some shipments.
More than 90,000 rail workers from 13 unions around the United States might strike Friday if the unions that represent them can’t reach a contract agreement with the National Railway Labor Conference, which represents the rail companies. The railroads reached an agreement with the leaders of 11 of the 13 unions, but those unions do not include the two biggest unions representing rail workers. The workers in the unions that reached agreements have not yet voted on the contract offers.
The latest agreement came Sunday, but groups claiming to echo the sentiments of “rank-and-file workers” are pushing online messages calling for union members nationwide to reject all of the agreements offered so far and go on strike Friday.
Starting today, some railroads say they plan to reduce some services until they see whether unions strike. FreightWaves, a supply chain website, quotes Norfolk Southern CEO Ed Elkins as saying, “We must take steps to ensure we can shut down operations safely if a strike occurs and be positioned to restart quickly when operations resume. Most importantly, we must ensure that no hazardous material or freight that requires special security is left on an unattended train out on the network in the event of a sudden strike.”
Union Pacific Railroad announced, “On Monday September 12, Union Pacific will begin to secure hazardous and other security-sensitive materials on our property for the safety of our customers, employees and communities we serve. In addition, we will embargo new shipments of hazardous commodities until those shipments can safely arrive at their destination. This is a proactive measure we are taking ahead of any potential work stoppages due to an impasse in labor negotiations. A list of the specific commodities affected can be viewed here.”
A strike could affect a mind-boggling one-third of cargo in the United States. A long strike could mean empty store shelves and supply chain interruptions that would eclipse the issues you saw even in the early days of the pandemic.
It’s about the last thing the US economy needs as it struggles to get over several years of supply chain issues. A prolonged strike could mean empty shelves in stores, temporary closures at factories that don’t have the parts they need to operate, and higher prices due to the limited availability of various consumer goods.
“We’re hearing more and more that shippers and the railroads are getting anxious,” said John Drake, vice president for transportation, infrastructure and supply chain policy for the US Chamber of Commerce. The chamber is calling on the two sides to reach a deal that avoids the first national rail strike in 30 years.
The National Railway Labor Conference provides its position in a background page.
The Association of American Railroads says a work stoppage would cost the American economy $2 billion a day. It would certainly add to the nation’s inflation troubles. The American Association of Railroads said:
Failure to act could idle more than 7,000 trains daily and trigger retail product shortages, widespread manufacturing shutdowns, job losses and disruptions to hundreds of thousands of passenger rail customers.
“As the freight sector heads into peak shipping season, a nationwide rail work stoppage would result in an unnecessary $2 billion daily economic hit,” said AAR President and CEO Ian Jefferies.
A railroad shutdown in mid-September would quickly overwhelm grain storage facilities, leaving farmers with few options to store their crops and boosting the chance of spoilage. Many grain processors would shut down, raising the price of bread and other common items, while farmers would be saddled with huge crop quantities and lower commodity prices.
“It’s kind of a double whammy when you hit both the beginning and the end of the supply chain,” said Max Fisher, chief economist at the National Grain and Feed Association.
Because roughly one-third of U.S. grain exports travel by rail, a work stoppage would also cut down on America’s ability to ship food to foreign nations, particularly those in East Africa and the Middle East that face a risk of famine following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
MORE OF THE STORY AT THE LINK:
https://www.poynter.org/reporting-editing/2022/railway-strike-september-2022-inflation/
Here's an old meme that may shed additional meaning to the proposed rail line strike scheduled (still) for September 16. The article above doesn't mention fuel prices, but the first part of the meme below, from Jan 2021, does discuss it.[H/T TruthWillWin]
The above ground pipeline keeping the cheaper and safer below ground pipeline from being completed.
Joe Biden: Making America into Europe since 2021!
Make America Depression Again with Joe!!
Every last word of that is absolutely a fact!
An FYI on the ‘poynter.org’ source. The Poynter Institute for Media Studies is a St.Petersburg (FL) journalism school that is a close coordinated venture of the former St.Petersburg Times (now Tampa Bay Times) and PolitiFact. As a longtime resident of this area, the St.Petersburg Times was sarcastically referred to as the ‘Sun Coast Pravda’ and similar terms. The Opinion Pages / Editorials should have been printed in red ink for its LEFT of left viewpoints! The motto of this school is “Democracy needs journalism. Journalism needs Poynter.”
Lots of railroads in the west cross the US - Canada border.
The Standard Transportation Commodity Code (STCC) is a publication containing specific product information used on waybills and other shipping documents.
Here is the list again:
Hazardous & Security-Sensitive Commodities
If something is labeled "HAZARD CLASS 2.3 POISON GAS" there are strict rules regarding transportation through cities. Something about Bhopal India comes to mind.
Well now……
Years ago Hedge Fund guy, Paul Hilal, enlisted Hunter Harrison to be the CEO of CSX Transportation. After having ruined one, if not both of the Canadian railroads, they decided to come south.
What was Harrison’s business model to make the railroad more profitable? Fire as many employees as possible until there is a bare minimum of workers to move freight.
I think they fired around 7000 people.
What did the unions do when all of this was happening? NOTHING.
Now, since kids in their early 20s don’t want to do that kind of work, all the railroads are hurting for folks.
P
Agreed, and I’m not a fan of Poytner, but I’ve been reading about the rail strike from legitimate sources for about a month after it was initially attempted in August, then given a 30 day ‘cooling off’ period. So there is a real risk the Sept 16 proposed rail strike may actually go through this time.
This will mean the political death of the Dems in the mid-term elections as the supply shortages that will occur will be properly blamed on biden’s regime.
M A D A
Back it up Al Tompkins ... show us how the strike goes back to Trump. LOL - Liar liar pants on fire Tompkins - check your Trump hated - wild unfounded accusations make your industry look untrustworthy - and stupid.
Which means it’s not gonna happen.
No way the rail unions are gonna torpedo the Dems for Nov election.
The loyal American union member….
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