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In efforts to prevent a potential national railroad strike, the United States House of Representatives passed a preliminary agreement Wednesday that is now waiting to be voted on in the Senate.

The legislation comes in the wake of ongoing debate between rail unions and rail companies. As of Monday, four out of 12 unions rejected an agreement negotiated by the Biden administration, according to Forbes. If the unions were to strike, Syracuse University professors said it could impact industry in the city and Amtrak travel.

“This could cause chaos, without a doubt, for the holiday season,” said Patrick Penfield, professor of supply chain practice in SU’s Martin J. Whitman School of Management. “If this strike does happen, it’s going to really cause a major issue within the supply chain.”

While Penfield said the postal system, which traditionally relies on trucks as its means of delivery, would be fine, other products such as livestock, diesel fuel, food products and chemicals are primarily transported by train and would be affected by the strike.

Penfield said he anticipates that Syracuse will feel the effects of the impending strike on all of these fronts, specifically citing livestock as a potentially hard-hit industry for the city.

“I think some of the livestock that we ship out, that could be an issue,” Penfield said. “We may have a difficult time trying to move livestock and so what will happen is, unfortunately, they’ll probably have to dispose of their livestock because they’ll be unable to move it.”

Two of the U.S.’s largest rail unions, the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen and the Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation – Transportation Division, were split on the Biden administration’s agreement. While BLET ratified the deal, SMART-TD voted against it.

CNBC, however, reported on Nov. 21 that BLET will still strike with SMART-TD despite the group voting in favor of the original agreement. According to CNBC, workers are set to strike on Dec. 9 if an agreement is not reached.

Penfield said railroad companies cutting back on the labor force has led to record profits made in the past few years, increasing the demand on the hours of workers that remain. Gary La Point, a professor of supply chain practice in Whitman, said the agreed number of sick days in the proposal is the “sticking point” for unions in the debate.

Under the previous proposal, the Biden administration did not grant any paid sick days to the union. The new proposal passed by the House on Nov. 30 added seven paid sick days.

“Our members want and need sick leave, but even more so, they need relief from the damning effects of operational changes made by the railroads over the last five years,” the statement read. “If Congress truly wants to take action to improve the industry for our members, then we recommend legislation that will work to reverse the devastation of Precision Scheduled Railroading.”

Before the agreement was passed by the House on Wednesday, La Point said he believed government bodies would step in to prevent mass economic breakdown before a strike even began, as the federal government has done in the past.

“The real problem with the railroads is the bulk that actually is going to cause havoc everywhere, because the railroads ship primarily bulk materials,” La Point said.

Bulk materials like coal and heating oil for the winter, grain, gasoline and even commuters that take the train to work every day will be affected by a potential strike, he said.

“If it goes for any length of time, it’s going to be a mess,” La Point said.

In the wake of potential turmoil on the rail lines, Penfield says companies may look to ship by truck to try to maintain productivity. Now, he said companies are proactively moving away from rail. But Penfield said switching from railways to trucks is not a sustainable option and would still leave companies vulnerable to a slowdown in commerce.

“The longer this is drawn out, the worse it’ll be, especially it being around holiday time,” Penfield said.

Published on December 1, 2022 at 1:01 am

Contact Sydney: srrothst@syr.edu