A railroad strike could start on Friday. It’s been in the works since January of 2020 but may finally come to a head this week.
Railroads are already starting to prepare by curtailing shipments and changing passenger routes.
“The truth is a lot of our freight is moved via rail in fact over a third of it”
Railroads could go quiet this Friday raising concern for distribution hubs.
“Especially here on the west shore around the Harrisburg area, were very well situated as a crossroads for the Nation so within about 10 hours of here you could hit about half the population of the country”
Railroads across the state prepare for a pending rail strike as over 90 thousand rail workers around the U.S. may walk out demanding better pay and sick time.
“Our hands are tied we have to get what our members deserve and they truly do deserve it”
Norfolk Southern and Amtrak scaling back services awaiting a ripple effect.
“We have already seen Amtrak start to wind down some of the multi-day trips the long distance network They know they don’t want to strand workers equipment passengers”
The National Railway Labor Conference represents rail companies.
It’s reportedly reached tentative agreements with 9 of the 12 unions representing rail workers offering what it calls the most substantial wage increase in over 40 years.
“We’re trying to come to an agreement”
Tony Cardwell’s Union represents those who work on the tracks.
“Some of the hardest working people in the industry they swing the hammers they are the ones that work out there in the 110° weather and then the freezing weather”
But contracts are still up in the air for Signal Workers, Conductors and Engineers raising concerns on the implications it could have on the supply chain.
“Those operations could be disrupted within about 10 days”
The Association of American Railroads says a strike could cost the American economy $2 Billion dollars a day adding to inflation concerns.
Cardwell says a strike is not the solution anyone wants.
“They are heroes anyway and I think they should be considered that they worked through the pandemic they kept this economy going”
