US Rail-Labor Talks Continue as Deadline to Avert Strike Nears

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(Bloomberg) -- Talks between freight-rail companies and unions continued under Labor Secretary Marty Walsh’s leadership Wednesday, a day before US railroads are set to stop shipments as they brace for a possible labor strike.  

“Secretary Walsh continues to lead discussions at the Department of Labor between the rail companies and unions,” a spokesperson for the department said. “The parties are negotiating in good faith and have committed to staying at the table today.” 

About 125,000 workers could walk off the job if a deal isn’t reached by Friday’s deadline, with a strike potentially costing the world’s biggest economy more than $2 billion a day. The stoppage would be the largest of its kind since 1992, and it would snarl a wide range of goods transported by rail -- from food to metal and auto parts -- and threatens travel chaos for thousands of commuters. The White House is considering an emergency decree to keep key goods flowing.    

A Biden-appointed board last month issued a set of recommendations to resolve the dispute, including wage increases and better health coverage. But the proposal did not include terms on scheduling, attendance and other issues important to the two unions holding out for a deal, affiliates of the Teamsters Union and of the International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers. Together, they represent about 60,000 employees. 

A rail strike would be “potentially disastrous,” with “dire consequences that will cascade throughout the economy if a strike actually occurs,” Business Roundtable Chief Executive Officer Joshua Bolten told reporters.

Supply-chain issues would be “geometrically magnified by the rail strike, and that’s not just the occasional Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) box showing up two days later than it should -- these are critical materials” such as chlorine to keep water clean that would be delayed, Bolten said. 

If all 7,000 long-distance freight trains available in the US stopped running, the country would need an extra 460,000 long-haul trucks daily to make up for the lost capacity, which isn’t possible because of equipment availability and driver shortages, American Trucking Associations President Chris Spear said in a letter to Congress. 

The trucking industry -- dealing with labor issues of its own -- faces a deficit of 80,000 drivers nationwide, he wrote.

While a majority of 12 railroad unions involved in the dispute had reached or were close to achieving tentative agreements with freight carriers as of Monday, members of those unions also would refuse to work unless a deal is reached with the whole group, leaders said. 

Negotiations started at about 9 a.m. in Washington and continued through lunch without a break, the Labor spokesperson said. 

Earlier, almost 5,000 workers represented by the International Association of Machinists rejected the contract, complicating efforts to avoid a nationwide strike.

The union members gave leadership the green light to strike if necessary. IAM District 19 said it also agreed to an extension until Sept. 29 to allow negotiations to continue.

(Updates with comment from Business Roundtable CEO in fifth paragraph.)

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