Railroad Companies, Union Workers Continue Contract Negotiations

Railroad companies still haven't reached a new agreement on a contract with rail unions. Both sides are currently in a cooling off period which prevents the rail companies from executing a lockout of workers or from union workers to organize a strike due to work conditions.

The cooling off period, which went into effect when President Biden appointed a Presidential Emergency Board, does end on September 16, however, and it does mean that a lockout or strike is still possible.

According to Brian Cathey, a chairman for the SMART transportation division, there are a few big points of contention that union workers want addressed in the new contract.

"At the end of the day, the main sticking point is our work rules and quality of life issues that, from the beginning, we told them were sticking points for this negotiation, and we’ve got the agreement on the table for them to withdraw policies that they put in place after the negotiation from the national contract began," Cathey said.

In the event of a strike, Cathey did assure that trains would not be left out all over the place. He said that there are protocols in place to keep the trains from disrupting commutes instead of potentially being left on crossings.

"We wouldn’t just walk off and leave trains in the middle of everywhere. We have certain rules that we'll follow. There will not be any interference with crossings or things like that," Cathey said.

Union Pacific, when asked for comment on the contract negotiations, said:

"What we want, and continue to push for, is a prompt resolution that provides historic wage increases to employees and allows the railroads to restore service as soon as possible, preventing further disruption to the struggling supply chain."

Congress has the power to keep workers on the job, but it is unclear if it can act in time.