Possible railroad strike looming
Just what we need with the ports starting to limp along – railroad workers and the big train companies are at loggerheads and if they do not agree by 12:01 AM Friday, the workers say they will strike.
At midday on Tuesday, Norfolk Southern will stop accepting intermodal cargo: goods that move by combinations of ship, truck and rail transport. Those shipments include consumer goods and e-commerce packages that account for almost half of U.S. rail traffic.
U.S. railroads account for almost 30% of cargo transport by weight and maintain nearly 97% of the tracks Amtrak uses for commuter rail. Widespread railroad disruptions could choke supplies of food and fuel, spawn transportation chaos and stoke inflation.
Railroads late last week said they would halt shipments of hazardous materials such as chlorine used to purify drinking water and chemicals used in fertilizer on Monday so they are not stranded in unsafe locations in the event of a strike.
As of Sunday, eight of 12 unions had reached tentative deals covering about half of 115,000 workers, the National Railway Labor Conference (NRLC) said.
Hold outs include the transportation division of the International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail, and Transportation Workers (SMART-TD) and the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET). Reuters
Like most strikes, there are two sides to the story: The railroads pared over 30,000 workers over the last six years and are pushing for minimal manning to maximize profits. The railroad workers complain of being on call 24/7 and pay which has not matched with inflation. Commenters say the railroads want solely one engineer on trains a mile and a half or less in length, and two men working up to 3 mile long trains.
Now, in the past Congress and the President have simply ordered the railroads and workers to get it sorted and keep the trains rolling. Given how much of the current administration is beholden to unions, I find it hard to believe we will see the same resolve. As we know, F.J. Biden is no H.S. Truman. Just what we need with peak consumer shipping season in process and harvest shipments in the offing.
Category: "Your Tax Dollars At Work", Society
I learned a lot of moral wisdom by reading scripture! Here is one recommendation: https://bible.usccb.org/bible There are also other links to Jewish and Christian Bibles, pick one and happy reading!
Fixed!
-thebesig
Practice parthenogenesis.
Having sex in Athens?
Why don’t you want the Semi-Racist Adorable Deplorables to earn big money from working from home. If that gig doesn’t work out, have any of you considered selling issues of Grit to your friends and neighbors. You can earn money and win big prizes.
Practice coprophagy.
I doubt the Biden gov will risk the fall out of a rail strike.
No matter which side he takes, he’s screwed. And he does t have the balls to pick a side. He will watch it happen and complain about it.
Don’t we have an admin here? I sent an e-mail about the spam but got no response and the spam is still going on.
The return of the Rail Road Barons. Holy 1870s, Batman. God forbid that those greedy workers take more money out of the coffers controlled by The Oracle of Omaha. And poor old PINO Joe, caught in the middle. He owes the unions and he’s chummy with the ones that use rail cars to transport the oil that woulda gone thru the cancelled pipelines. The only winners in this game will be the Union Dues account…and the politicians they use that money to buy.
The Confederacy was non union.
I hope Warren Buffet dies in screaming agony. Fuck that guy.
Vote Dem in Nov for more!
Fail To train, Train To Fail. 🤓
They want ONE Engineer solely in charge of say, a mile-long 15,000+ ton freight train in the name of saving on payroll expenses. It began with the introduction of Precision Scheduled Railroading proposed originally by Hunter Harrison when he was at CSX Railroad which is still hurting for personnel!
“Maybe you know why a high-roller like Hedley Lamarr is interested in Rock Ridge.”
“Don’t know. Got to do with where choo-choo go.”
“Mongo, why would Hedley Lamarr care about where the choo-choo goes?”
“Don’t know. Mongo only pawn in game of life.”
Good old Alex Karras, pride of East Chicago, Indiana.
Practice coprophagy, you foppish dunderhead of an afternoon Farmer, you’re all hat and no cattle.
Unions. Making life better for us all……
My train of thoughts are for the train companies and workers to get on the right track and try not to derail or railroad the negotiations which I am sure a lot of people will get steamed up about it. I do hope the negtiations are settled faster than a mail bag at a railroad station whistle stop.
Tracking