OHIO — After 20 hours of debate, a potential national crisis has been averted with a tentative deal between railroads and labor unions.
“Last night was a historic night for rail labor. We’re very proud of what was accomplished,” said Jeremy Feguson, president of SMART Transportation.
What You Need To Know
- Unions that represent conductors and engineers both have reached a tentative agreement
- 30 precent of the nation’s freight moves by way of rail
- Without rail, experts say, this would have a rippling affect on the entire supply chain
- Quality of life issues like sick time, work rules and scheduling were key negotiating points
For hours, the unions negotiated with the railways over what they call quality of life issues like sick leave, work rules and scheduling.
Thomas Balzer is the Ohio Trucking Association president and he said even though the two sides have reached a tentative agreement, we may not be in the clear just yet.
“Any time you have a tentative deal, that means that the members of the union still have to ratify that vote,” Balzer said. ”I think there’s still an opportunity there for those members to not accept the deal.”
Balzer said the trucking industry works very closely with the railways and they share the same cargo. A strike would have put additional pressure on the trucking industry to move that freight.
“We live in a highly interconnected supply chain right now, whether it be air, water, rail, truck,” Balzer said.
The American Trucking Association has reported a shortage of 80,000 truck drivers, which means should the rails stop, the trucking industry wouldn’t be able to pick up the slack.
“To think that we could have picked up that much volume in that short of a time is almost an impossibility,” said Balzer.
Balzer said he remains cautiously optimistic.
“The transportation supply chain, it’s a very vital component to the American economy,” he said. “If there’s any disruption, regardless of mode, there is going to be an impact.”
