National Railroad Strike Looms: What It Means In Illinois

ILLINOIS — A looming national freight railroad strike Friday is expected to affect commuter rail traffic in Illinois, but industry analysts warn a walkout will re-tangle supply chains and deal a crippling blow to the U.S. economy.

A tentative agreement was rejected Wednesday by one of the railroad unions yet to strike a deal with negotiators as the first national railroad strike in 30 years becomes closer to reality, The Wall Street Journal reported.

Illinois residents who planned cross-country trips by Amtrak already may already be feeling the effects of the dispute between the nation’s major railroads and their unions. Amtrak canceled service on the Southwest Chief route, the Empire Builder route, the California Zephyr route and part of the Texas Eagle route, Reuters reported.

The passenger railway company said routes between Boston, New York and Washington, D.C., will see “no impact,” and only minimal changes are expected elsewhere in the Northeast.

Amtrak said Wednesday it's canceling all long-distance routes starting Thursday, but service in the Northeast is expected to run normally.

An Amtrak spokesperson told Patch the service "will only operate trains this week that we can ensure will have enough time to reach their final destinations by 12:01 a.m. on Friday," when the potential strike would go into effect if negotiating parties are unable to come to an agreement.

In a statement to Axios, Amtrak said it was hopeful for a resolution but had begun phased service interruptions to prepare.

RELATED: All Amtrak Long-Distance Routes Canceled Ahead Of Possible Strike

Metra, the fourth busiest commuter rail system in the United States by ridership, announced Tuesday that a potential work stoppage by freight railroad workers could happen as early as Friday. Metra operates 242 stations on 11 rail lines. It serves the Chicago metropolitan area as well as the surrounding suburbs.

RELATED: Potential Work Stoppage Could Derail Metra Service On Friday

On Wednesday, Metra said the following BNSF trains will not operate Thursday night:

• Inbound trains 1296, 1298, 1300 and 1302 are canceled (all depart Aurora after 8 p.m.)
• Outbound trains 1289, 1291 1293 and 1295 are canceled (all depart Chicago after 9:30 p.m.)

The following Union Pacific trains will not operate Thursday night, Sept 15:

Union Pacific North

• Inbound trains 372 and 374 are canceled (all depart Waukegan after 10 p.m.)
• Outbound trains 371, 373, 375 and 377 are canceled (all depart Chicago after 9:30 p.m.)

Union Pacific Northwest

• Inbound trains 666 and 668 are canceled (all depart after 9:30 p.m.)
• Outbound trains 661,663,665 and 601 are canceled (all depart Chicago after 9:30 p.m.)

Union Pacific West

• Inbound train 68 is canceled (departs Elburn after 9:15 p.m.)
• Outbound trains 69 and 71 are canceled (all depart Chicago after 9:30 p.m.)

Metra also said Wednesday afternoon it expects to be able to operate scheduled service Friday on the Metra Electric, Rock Island, SouthWest Service, Milwaukee District North, and Milwaukee District West lines.

"Negotiations between the unions and freight railroads are ongoing, and we are hopeful that a settlement will be reached before the strike deadline,"said in a statement.

Other regional commuter rail systems could be affected as well, including Virginia Railway Express and the Maryland Area Regional Commuter Train Service, The Washington Post reported. Those systems lease tracks owned by the freight lines.

A labor walkout would shut down 30 percent of the nation’s freight and also “halt most passenger and commuter rail services,” the freight industry has warned. Freight railroads have already taken steps to ensure that sensitive and hazardous materials, including chlorine for drinking water, don’t get held up mid-journey.

The Association of American Railroads trade group put out a report last week estimating that shutting down the railroads would cost the economy $2 billion a day cost to the economy.

President Joe Biden blocked a strike by the 115,000 railroad workers through executive action in July, imposing a 60-day “cooling off” period that expires at 12:01 a.m. EDT.

The White House said Tuesday that Secretary of Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and his agency are working to lessen the effects of a strike on critical resources, including food drinking water and electricity. Politico reported that at least two Cabinet secretaries and Biden are directly involved in efforts to avert a national railroad strike and have spoken with negotiators on both sides of the labor dispute.

The coalition negotiating on behalf of the nation's biggest freight railroads — including Union Pacific, CSX, Norfolk Southern, BNSF and Kansas City Southern — has reached most of the tentative agreements needed to avoid a strike, but high hurdles remain

Negotiators are at loggerheads on scheduling and sick time policies that conductors and engineers say keep them “on call” even on days they’re not scheduled to work, issues the White House’s Presidential Emergency Board said are best resolved through grievance and arbitration processes.

“The primary resistance comes from Union Pacific and BNSF because of the attendance policies they have adopted which have treated workers so poorly,” Dennis Pierce, the president of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen, told CNBC. “We’re just looking for time away from work to address our medical issues. Union Pacific and BNSF attendance policies are assessing (penalty) points to our members when they just want to take time off for their regular medical appointments.”

Congress could still step in to prevent a strike, which U.S. Chamber of Commerce Secretary Suzanne Clark said Monday would be an “economic disaster, freezing the flow of goods, emptying shelves, shuttering workplaces and raising prices for families and businesses alike.”

The chamber joined a growing coalition of business groups, including 31 agricultural shipping trade groups, sending letters to Congress urging lawmakers to step in and block the strike if the two sides can’t reach agreement by Friday’s deadline.

The possibility of congressional intervention is a slippery slope, especially for Democrats counting on support and votes from union allies in the November midterms.

“The president is bragging about how much influence he has with unions and how much influence they have with him,” Senate Minority leader Mitch McConnell told reporters Tuesday.

However, Democrats favor waiting to see if the railroads and unions reach an agreement.

“Let’s wait a few days and see if there’s an agreement that’s reached,” Sen. Bernie Sanders, a Vermont independent, told reporters.

The Associated Press contributed reporting.