Looming Railroad Strike Could Cost $2B A Day, Re-Tangle Supply Chain

ACROSS AMERICA — Amtrak is halting major long-distance routes in preparation for a possible freight railroad strike Friday that industry analysts warn would 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.

Americans who planned cross-country trips by Amtrak are already feeling the effects of the dispute between the nation’s major freight railroads and their unions. Amtrak isn't involved in the negotiations but uses the freight railroad-owned tracks for its passenger trains. The company said Wednesday it will only operate trains it can ensure will reach their final destination before the strike deadline at 12:01 a.m. EDT Friday.

Below is a list Amtrak provided late Wednesday afternoon of long-distance trains that have been canceled:

Canceled Long Distance Trains:

• Southwest Chief
• Empire Builder
• California Zephyr
• City of New Orleans
• Coast Starlight
• Crescent
• Lake Shore Limited
• Silver Star
• Sunset Limited
• Texas Eagle
• Auto Train
• Capitol Limited
• Cardinal
• Palmetto (south of Washington)

Canceled State-Supported frequencies for the evening of Thursday, Sept. 15:

• Capitol Corridor
• Cascades
• Heartland Flyer
• Illinois Service
• Michigan Service
• Pacific Surfliner
• Piedmont
• San Joaquins
• Springfield Service (north of Springfield)
• Virginia Service

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.

Some regional commuter rail systems could be affected as well, including Chicago’s Metra, 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 Friday.

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.