US Rail Strike July 18 2022?

[SlugSlinger]

They are hiring. 157 pages of jobs.

Some with 15,000-20,000 hiring bonus.

 

[Foxfire5]

Railroad union members vote 99.5% to authorize a July 18 nationwide strike.



Now, another serious issue is on the horizon: Biden faces a July 18th deadline to intervene in nationwide U.S. railroad labor talks covering 115,000 workers.

The stakes are high for Biden, who wants to tackle inflation-stoking supply-chain woes and is already working to reach a deal in the critical labor talks at West Coast seaports.

If the president declines to intercede in the railroad labor negotiations by appointing a Presidential Emergency Board (PEB) before 12:01 a.m. EDT on Monday, the railroads and unions could opt for operational shutdowns or strikes, respectively. If appointed, the board would make recommendations that could be used as a framework for a voluntary settlement.

A White House official told Reuters the administration “is going through the standard process that has been used in the past when considering a PEB.” The White House declined further comment.

Union officials indicate that they do not want to go on strike, but are being forced to consider the option to try and obtain better benefits and wages, as well as to address staffing issues.

The unions have worked without a contract since July 1, 2019.

The two sides were forced into a 30-day “cooling off period” after failing to reach an agreement working through the National Mediation Board. The cooling off period prevents unions from striking or railroads from locking out their workers while they continue to negotiate.

That cooling off period ends at midnight on July 18, and a coalition of unions could choose to go on strike at that point, said Sheet Metal Air Rail Transportation union president Jeremy Ferguson.

However, the Railway Labor Act, which sets out the rules for these kinds of disputes, allows President Joe Biden to appoint a three-member emergency board to investigate and make recommendations to both sides about how to settle their differences.

The union is not allowed to strike during the Presidential Emergency Board’s investigation.
This potential strike is a serious issue. Yet, in this summer of January 6th drama, gun control kabuki, and abortion theater, the press has spent next to no time covering this issue.

Should a strike occur, there are some supply chain statistics to keep in mind. About 1/3rd of American exports are transported to rail. Freight rail is part of an integrated network of trains, trucks and barges that ships around 61 tons of goods per American every year. Many of those goods include essentials, like energy and food.

As of July 12, over 99% of union workers have voted to authorize a strike.

The membership of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen voted overwhelmingly Tuesday to authorize a strike if progress on a new labor contract isn’t made by the end of the week. The union is one of 13 rail worker unions negotiating a national labor contract after the previous contract expired in 2019.

The vote comes days before a federally mandated “cooling off period” between the unions and rail carriers is set to expire, after the two sides failed in June to reach an agreement before the National Mediation Board.

The supply chain is about to go off the rails.

Give them what they want and move on!. Biden won't help the average man or women. He has been in the pockets of the Unions ever since he became a politician!

 

[Foxfire5]

Sorry for my fat fingers.

Bnsf

First time I seen the name BASF was on Video tapes back in the day.

Sorry for my fat fingers.

Bnsf

 

[Foxfire5]

The ones who drive the trains can get paid pretty well. I was looking at a career change back in '97 or '98, and my uncle (who is now retired from the railroad) told me some of them were making upwards of $60K per year driving trains across the western US. I didn't end up changing careers, so I never did find out for sure what they're making, but I'm guessing that their salaries haven't been static for the last 25 years...

Over a 100K.

 

[Chief Sapulpa]

Glad I didn't get a job working for UP a few years ago. The horror stories I have read.

I still wanna tour their locomotive repair facility in NE.

 

[dlbleak]

Dad retired from UP as an engineer. He never really got into politics until after he retired. The liberal rag he got from the union was all the news he needed at the time. 30 pages of how Republicans suck and such. Kinda like the rags I get from the NEA and the OEA. He said he could never see himself voting Republican until after he retired and stopped getting the UTU rag.

 

[Foxfire5]

According to my dental hygienist, who’s husband is an engineer for basf, at least that position is not a very stable job. His dad owns a plumbing company and he would work for him when he got furloughed. He was getting furloughed often enough that he quit the engineer position.

Friend of mine worked for Burlington Northern spent the last 5-6 years in a rubber room. Packed a lunch every day and played cards and moving place to place its what happens to you when your at the top of the ladder and get paid for it.

 

[dennishoddy]

They reached an agreement this morning. No strike, everything back to normal.
From what I hear, the RR has their own retirement like the government workers and it's a pretty good retirement I hear.