Freight Rail Strike Averted For A Few More Weeks At Least

As Connecting the Dots reported two weeks ago, due to lingering concerns about sick leave policy, the Brotherhood of Railroad Signalmen (BRS) and the Brotherhood of Maintenance Way Employees Division (BMWED) of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters had each voted against ratifying a tentative deal between the U.S. Class I railroads and the 12 unions that had temporarily avoided a nationwide strike.

Those two votes increased the possibility of a national freight rail strike before the end of the year, but there was good news last week.

On November 8, the BMWED announced an extension of their “status quo” period from November 19, 2022 to December 4, 2022. This decision pushes off the risk of a national rail strike from this month to December 5, 2022 at the earliest.

Both the freight railroads’ bargaining arm, the National Railway Labor Conference (NRLC) and the Association of American Railroads, issued statements after the extension. They said the freight railroads will continue to engage with the unions to seek an agreement based on the framework recommended by Presidential Emergency Board 250.

The freight rail industry is responsible for moving approximately 40 percent of long-haul goods.

Industrial metals companies can keep an eye on this matter at the NRLC’s Bargaining Status FAQ website, which is regularly updated with news of ratification votes and with additional details about the negotiated contract terms. Again, while there is no impending strike, work stoppage by any of the rail unions is likely to cause a nationwide rail shutdown.