TTD in the news

Reported by Lisa Baertlein for Reuters.

U.S. President Joe Biden faces a deadline next week to intervene in nationwide U.S. railroad labor talks covering 115,000 workers, or open the door to a potential strike or lockout that could threaten an already fragile economy and choke supplies of food and fuel.

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.

Reported by Eugene Mulero for Transport Topics.

Citing supply chain concerns, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce joined other transportation stakeholders in calling on the White House to assist with labor disputes in the freight rail sector.

Suzanne Clark, the chamber’s CEO, argued recently that White House-level assistance with appointing a Presidential Emergency Board (PEB) would be useful in avoiding supply chain connectivity disruptions across the freight sector.

Reported by Nick Niedzwiadek and Eleanor Mueller for Politico.

RAIL WORKERS PREP FOR NEXT STEP: Freight rail workers held a demonstration Sunday in Lincoln, Nebraska, near a key linkage in the country’s supply chain infrastructure.

It is one of several moves that labor leaders are teeing up to rally support among members and the public ahead of a July 18 deadline for the White House to appoint a Presidential Emergency Board to resolve an ongoing labor dispute between unionized rail workers and the freight industry.

Reported by Grace McDonald for KOLN.

Railway workers rallied outside of the BNSF Railway offices on Sunday. Participants marched and chanted around the Lincoln Station, advocating for more benefits, a pay raise and a new contract.

“We’ve gone too long without proper pay raises, proper benefits, sick leave,” said Jakob Forsgren, local chairman of Lodge 1320 for the Brotherhood of Maitenance Way Employees Division of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters. “We’re fed up with the way that we’ve been treated the last couple of years in these contract negotiations, and it’s clear to me that I’m not the only one who has those feelings. So we’re just here to kind of show the railroads that enough is enough.”

Reported by Mel Buer for The Real News.

Before these past two years, if you were polling passersby on the street, you would have been hard pressed to find anyone ready to admit that they were seriously concerned about the supply chain. You’d be hard pressed, for that matter, to find many who could describe what the supply chain actually is (present company included). That is certainly not the case today. From shortages—and correspondingly high costs—of groceries and consumer goods like baby formula and sunflower oil to medical devices, “supply chain issues” have become a pronounced source of anxiety and frustration for consumers, workers, businesses, and politicians alike.

Reported by William C. Vantuono for Railway Age.

The 37-union-affiliate Transportation Trades Department, AFL-CIO (TTD) on July 1 sent a letter to the Surface Transportation Board in response to the agency’s “information collection request” regarding Class I railroad reporting requirements. The letter, signed by TTD President Greg Regan, asks the STB to further increase the already stepped-up reporting requirements to include additional employment data.

Reported by Dan Zukowski for Smartcitiesdive.

President Joe Biden is expected to appoint an emergency board this month to avoid a shutdown of the nation’s large freight railroads, which could also disrupt some Amtrak passenger operations. But Greg Regan, president of the Transportation Trades Department, AFL-CIO, is hopeful that outcome can be avoided.

Amtrak owns just 3% of the routes its trains travel, while the rest are mostly owned by freight railroads. Should a work stoppage occur, particularly if train dispatchers or other operational workers are involved, all trains would be affected, Regan explained.

Reported by John Gallagher for Freightwaves.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is calling on President Joe Biden to help resolve a dispute between the country’s Class 1 railroads and 12 rail unions to avert a possible rail strike beginning July 18.

In a letter sent to the White House on Wednesday, U.S. Chamber President Suzanne Clark warned that the decision last month by the National Mediation Board (NMB) to release the railroads and unions from mediation and begin a 30-day cooling off period “presents a new challenge to the U.S. business community, which is already navigating a difficult environment.”

Reported by Progressive Railroading.

Surface Transportation Board members and other federal officials continue to hear from rail shippers and other rail industry stakeholders about ongoing freight-rail service issues and the supply-chain crisis.

This week, more than 50 Democratic and Republican members of Congress asked the STB to address the problems, particularly those disrupting U.S. food production.

Reported by Joanna Marsh for Freightwaves.

A bipartisan group of members of Congress are concerned about how subpar freight rail service is affecting the fertilizer industry and the greater agricultural sector’s ability to compete in global markets.

In a Wednesday letter to the Surface Transportation Board, 51 congressional members representing states across the U.S. urged the board to address short-term challenges and utilize “practical updates and changes” to ensure that rail service improves.