Out of the 11 unions, two holdouts could lead to a future strike as the two consist of roughly half of all rail workers. A third holdout union turned down a deal with the NCCC and will strike in two weeks if an agreement is not met. A potential strike could lead to a loss of $2 billion of lost economic output per day. Freight railroads are responsible for carrying 40% of the nation's freight and work stoppage could jeopardize these shipments.
If a strike does happen, Americans will feel the effects. The effects could assist of everything from the potential for layoffs to empty shelves to continued inflation. Chief economist at KPMG, Diane Swonk, revealed that this strike situation could add another layer to a slowing economy would put the American people in a very bad place.
Unions still negotiating are continuing to call for better time-off policies for their workers. Railroad companies are routinely penalize workers for taking time off for sickness or a doctor's appointment. Unions have reported that these policies have forces thousands of employees out of the industry and make it tough to recruit new workers. The Biden administration has issued recommendations for a compromise between parties that include a pay rise and bonus increases, but they excluded the demand for the union's time-off policy. President and members of congress have introduced resolutions that could end any potential strikes.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/looming-railroad-strike-could-cripple-us-economy/ar-AA11PRYo
I'm glad that this is being reported on through the perspective that it is the freight company who is at fault, and not the workers being too "greedy". Often times when strikes like this occur the media blames the workers which I feel provokes the company to hold out on changing policies in favor of the worker. With MSN reporting it in this fashion and the Biden Administration urging companies I doubt that the strike even happens in two weeks, and hope they compensate the workers so we don't have to feel the effects of the strike.
ReplyDeleteHas there been a report on how the unions are trying to meet the needs/demands of the workers? A loss of 2 million a day is very drastic and would be a huge loss for the economy. And with it being tough to recruit new workers how do they plan on adressing this situtaion?
ReplyDeleteThis is an interesting topic that I have not heard much about. Let's hope that the workers begin to get compensated so that we can avoid a strike. The effects, as mentioned, could be drastic. I believe for now the crisis has been avoided, but if the economy is headed for a recession this could be something to come back to.
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