The last thing we need are more shortages, but that seems inevitable if railway owners can't loosen their grasp on workers. Via the Washington Post:
Freight railroad companies and unions representing workers have been locked in a dispute over pay and working conditions, and come Friday, the conflict could spill over into a logistical crisis, affecting not only commuters who rely on the railway to get to work but also the nation’s energy supply and drinking water.
While a presidential board has urged a compromise, two of the largest unions have not agreed to the deal, which could prompt a major strike or the railroads to lock out passenger rail agencies and workers.
The impasse is tied to disagreements between management and labor over sick time and penalties for missing work, a politically challenging stalemate for President Biden, who aims to advocate for union workers but has prioritized untangling the nation’s besieged infrastructure in the covid era.
Yes, railway employees' working conditions are downright draconian:
A crucial issue preventing an agreement is some of the largest carriers’ points-based attendance policies that penalize workers, up to termination, for going to routine doctor’s visits or attending to family emergencies. Conductors and engineers say that they can be on call for 14 consecutive days without a break and that they do not receive a single sick day, paid or unpaid.
“All we’re asking is folks to be able to go to routine doctor’s visits without pay, but they have refused to accept our proposals,” said Dennis Pierce, president of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET). “The average American would not know that we get fired for going to the doctor. This one thing has our members most enraged. We have guys who were punished for taking time off for a heart attack and covid. It’s inhumane.”
Because of the years-long problems with the national supply chain, it is likely that Congress will intervene -- but these are real issues that still need to be resolved.
Railway owners, for instance, want to reduce staffing to one person per train -- which, workers say, is too dangerous, considering how much hazardous materials are shipped by rail.
There are a lot of factors that go into this mess, but you can get a pretty good idea of what's at stake by clicking on some of these:
And by the way, this will affect Amtrak and the local commuter trains who use their tracks.
