Are America’s railroads barreling toward a shutdown, practically weeks before the midterm elections?
That real possibility was created when the National Mediation Board issued a news release on June 17 announcing that “pursuant to the Railway Labor Act, the National Carriers’ Conference Committee (NCCC) and the twelve unions noted below were released by the NMB from statutory Mediation.”
This announcement meant that a mandated “30-day cooling-off period begins on June 18, 2022,” and further that “absent agreements or the establishment of a Presidential Emergency Board (PEB), the parties could exercise Self-Help as of 12:01 a.m. EDT, July 18, 2022.”
“Self-help” here could turn out to be another word for “strike” after a few more hurdles are cleared.
That’s certainly how rail trade journals are reading it.
The NMB “set in motion a ticking time bomb toward an economy-jolting national railroad shut down within 90 days,” Railway Age reported.
The main hurdle is an expected presidential intervention.
“President Biden will almost certainly appoint a PEB just as the cooling-off period ends,” the Association of American Railroads explained in a fact sheet that was heavily influenced by National Railway Labor Conference data.
The Biden-appointed board would then “have 30 days to conduct hearings and issue a report and recommendation.” Those recommendations are “not binding but often serve as the basis for voluntary agreements during” — and here is the kicker — “the 30-day cooling-off period that follows” a presidential intervention.
If we do the math, 30 days from June 18 is July 18, 30 days from July 18 is Aug. 17, and 30 days from Aug. 17 is Sept. 16. That’s the approximate expected first day that several unions could call a massive strike that could cripple supply chains with an election less than two months away.
The process leading up to a legal rail strike is intentionally drawn out because labor law on railroads is designed to encourage settlement and discourage strikes, given what a strike could do to the broader economy. Supply chains are straining to get goods to shelves. A rail strike could break them.
There are many sticking points between the unions and the railroads, including wages, benefits, and especially automation.
The railroads are having a hard time attracting enough workers and have in some cases been offering hefty signing bonuses to coax would-be employees to sign up.
BNSF Railway, for instance, offered an array of signing bonuses on its website when the Washington Examiner looked at it on June 23. These included “$7500 HIRING BONUS Electrician (Facilities) — Whitefish, MT,” “$7500 HIRING BONUS PLUS RELO-Mechanical Shop Laborer — Vancouver, WA,” “$12500 HIRING BONUS PLUS RELO-Electrician Diesel Engines — Clovis, NM,” and “$7500 HIRING BONUS — Conductor Trainee — Primary Recall — Phoenix, AZ.”
As a result of this worker shortage, the railroads are pushing both regulators and unions on the possibility of more automation going forward. Two examples: They want to have fewer workers on trains, and they want to replace trackwalking inspectors with constant electronic surveillance by devices mounted on the trains themselves.
What unionized rail workers want is better pay and job security, which automation threatens, and they have been willing to make an issue out of it. Critics point out that the Biden administration has overtly, quietly, and consistently sided with the unions.
“It is important for everyone to understand that this was an entirely avoidable situation that was orchestrated by National Mediation Board members Linda Puchala and Deirdre Hamilton, two strong allies of President Biden,” Marc Scribner, a transportation policy analyst at the Reason Foundation, told the Washington Examiner. “Puchala and Hamilton voted in June to release parties from NMB mediation after just two months. This unprecedented decision is part of a transparent effort to force union-friendly contract terms through congressional fiat that they cynically anticipate will occur in response to this self-created crisis.”
He added, “If a strike occurs, Congress should forcefully reject the corrupt machinations of the executive branch and examine potential reforms to the Railway Labor Act to prevent similar actions in the future.”
NMB arbitration in the past has stretched out for a long time because of all the ground that needs to be covered. “This NMB release from mediation is thus one of the shortest, if not the shortest, on record,” Railway Age reported.
The board offered binding arbitration instead, which the rail unions rejected. United Rail Unions said in a statement two days before the rejection, “All of the Carriers’ proposals to date serve as an insult to our collective membership. These essential employees carried the railroads to their record profits throughout the last several years.”
For their part, the railways appear eager to avoid both a strike and congressional action that threats of a strike might prompt.
“Railroads and their invaluable employees are best served when parties reach agreements voluntarily,” AAR spokesman Ted Greener told the Washington Examiner. “The industry remains committed to doing so, including by rewarding employees with highly competitive compensation and benefits. We hope all parties will work together to avoid any potential disruptions, including policymakers to the extent they are involved.”
