{"id":1640098,"date":"2022-09-13T13:34:09","date_gmt":"2022-09-13T17:34:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1640098"},"modified":"2022-09-13T13:34:58","modified_gmt":"2022-09-13T17:34:58","slug":"railroad-freight-companies-cutting-service-ahead-of-potential-nationwide-strike","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/railroad-freight-companies-cutting-service-ahead-of-potential-nationwide-strike\/","title":{"rendered":"Railroad Freight Companies Cutting Service Ahead Of Potential Nationwide Strike"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">20<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Frailroad-freight-companies-cutting-service-ahead-of-potential-nationwide-strike%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1640098&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Four of the nation\u2019s largest railroad companies have begun scaling back service ahead of a potential nationwide strike that could result in massive supply chain delays.<\/p>\n<p>BNSF, CSX, Norfolk Southern, and Union Pacific announced embargoes on selected shipments this week. Negotiations with two of the nation\u2019s largest rail unions, the International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail, and Transportation Workers, Transportation Division (SMART-TD) and the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET), have until Friday to avoid a shutdown.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAlthough the rail industry has reached tentative agreements with 10 of the 12 unions involved in current negotiations, two holdouts have been unwilling to come to an agreement based on the recommendations of President Joe Biden\u2019s Presidential Emergency Board,\u201d Norfolk Southern said in a <a href=\"http:\/\/www.nscorp.com\/content\/nscorp\/en\/news\/work-stoppage-communications.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">statement<\/a> on Friday.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAs a result, Norfolk Southern must now begin to prepare for the possibility of a strike at the conclusion of the current cooling-off period on September 16. Most importantly, we must ensure that hazardous and other security-sensitive freight is properly secured so it is not left stranded in the event of a sudden strike,\u201d it added.<\/p>\n<p>The company plans to resume full operations if a strike is avoided, according to the company\u2019s statement.<\/p>\n<p>The Association of American Railroads (AAR) released a report this month that expressed concern regarding the economic impact a freight railroad shutdown poses to the nation.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDaily lost economic output due to a nationwide rail shutdown could be more than $2 billion,\u201d the AAR <a href=\"https:\/\/www.aar.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/AAR-Rail-Shutdown-Report-September-2022.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">reported<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe lost output would harm manufacturers, distributors, retailers and consumers; it would mean increased fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emissions; and it would have a strong negative impact on our nation\u2019s taxpayer-funded highway system,\u201d the report added.<\/p>\n<p>The White House held a meeting on Tuesday to review contingency plans regarding water and energy supplies if the railroad strike moves ahead. President Joe Biden was also briefed on the issue Tuesday morning, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/business\/2022\/09\/13\/rail-strike-railroad-shutdown-biden\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">according to<\/a> a Washington Post report.<\/p>\n<p>In July, the Biden administration appointed an emergency board to address the dispute between the labor unions and railroad companies. Although nine unions involved have reached agreements, two of the largest and a smaller union remain without a deal.<\/p>\n<p>Part of the conflict revolves around a points-based attendance system initiated by two of the largest railroad companies, BNSF and Union Pacific. More than 700 BNSF workers have reportedly quit since the launch of the policy in February, according to the Post.<\/p>\n<p>Last month, the Biden administration also sought to intervene regarding pay raises. The Presidential Emergency Board proposed a 24% pay raise, gradually increasing until 2024. The AAR <a href=\"https:\/\/www.aar.org\/news\/aar-statement-on-biden-peb-report\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">stated<\/a> that the recommended changes would result in more than $11,000 per employee on average if ratified.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPresident Biden\u2019s PEB issued recommendations that should set the framework for a negotiated agreement between railroads and unions,\u201d AAR President and CEO Ian Jefferies said in the statement. \u201cThe recommendations would provide 24% compounded wage increases by 2024, with 14.1% of those increases effective immediately, along with additional service recognition bonuses totaling $5,000 over the course of the contract. An agreement based on these terms would lead to the largest general wage increase in nearly 40 years.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhile the Biden PEB\u2019s recommendations markedly exceed the rail carriers\u2019 proposal, they provide a useful basis to reach a resolution. In the interests of all rail stakeholders, now is the time for railroads and their unions to reach a contract.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Four of the nation\u2019s largest railroad companies have begun scaling back service ahead of a potential nationwide strike that could result in massive supply chain delays. BNSF, CSX, Norfolk Southern, and Union Pacific announced embargoes on selected shipments this week. Negotiations with two of the nation\u2019s largest rail unions, the International Association of Sheet Metal, &#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1640100,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1640098","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1640098","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1640098"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1640098\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1640100"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1640098"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1640098"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1640098"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}