6A The Mining Journal
Friday, September 16, 2022
Etcetera
Deal from 1A
cials to organized labor officials.
Joined in the Oval Office by business
and union leaders, a beaming Biden joked
that he was surprised everyone was “still
standing” after the late night and that they
should be “home in bed.”
A strike would also have disrupted pas-
senger traffic as well as freight, because
Amtrak and many commuter railroads op-
erate on tracks owned by the freight rail-
roads. Amtrak canceled all of its long-dis-
tance trains ahead of the strike deadline
and was working to restore full service.
The five-year deal, retroactive to 2020,
also includes $5,000 in bonuses. The rail-
roads agreed to ease their strict attendance
policies to address union concerns about
working conditions.
Railroad workers will now be able to
take unpaid days off for doctor’s appoint-
ments without being penalized. Previous-
ly, workers would lose points under the
attendance systems at BNSF and Union
Pacific railways, and they could be disci-
plined if they lost all their points.
The talks also included Norfolk South-
ern, CSX, Kansas City Southern and the
U.S. operations of Canadian National.
The unions that represent conductors and
engineers who drive the trains had pressed
hard for changes in the attendance rules,
and they said the deal sets a precedent that
ensures they will be able to negotiate such
rules in the future.
Kelly Pettus, who is married to an en-
gineer in Atlanta, said she wanted more
details about the attendance policy.
Earlier this year, her husband had to
leave work when their 2-year-old daugh-
ter ended up in the emergency room with
the flu. He spent the entire time worrying
about the penalty involved in taking a sin-
gle day off.
Freight train cars sit in a Norfolk Southern rail yard on Wednesday in Atlanta. President Joe Biden said Thursday that a tentative railway
labor agreement has been reached, averting a strike that could have been devastating to the economy before the pivotal midterm elections.
(AP photo)
problems gave rail workers extra leverage.
Newly hired CSX CEO Joe Hinrichs labor movement that goes beyond merely
said he hopes the new deal helps the rail- reacting to inflation,” Vachon said.
road hire and retain more employees to Before the deal was reached, business
address the service problems. groups including the Business Roundtable
That has led to a “real resurgence in the
“You can’t just call and say your baby is and attendance rules after the major rail-
in hospital,” Pettus said.
roads cut nearly one-third of their work-
Hugh Sawyer, an engineer in the Atlanta force — some 45,000 jobs — over the
area, said the pay raise was long overdue past six years.
and did not completely make up for the
regular cost-of-living increases that he costs everywhere and shifted its opera-
lost several years ago.
tions to rely more on fewer, longer trains
“It’s something to build on,” Sawyer that use fewer locomotives and fewer em-
said of the deal.
ployees. The unions said the remaining
The rail industry has aggressively cut
“Now we can move our conversation and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce were
into how do we work together to grow the predicting that a rail strike would be an
business and better serve our customers,” “economic disaster.”
he said.
The Association of American Railroads
Union activism has surged under Biden, trade group estimated that a strike would
as seen in a 56% increase in petitions for cost the economy more than $2 billion a
union representation with the National La- day and force many businesses to scale
bor Relations Board so far this fiscal year, back or cease production and consider
including prominent organizing efforts at layoffs.
Victor Chen, a sociologist at Virginia workers, particularly engineers and con-
Commonwealth University who studies ductors, were on call 24-7 because of jobs
labor, said concerns about working condi- cuts and could hardly take any time off
tions have increasingly become a priority under strict attendance rules.
for unions and the workers they represent.
Unions had an advantage at the bargain-
Starbucks, Amazon and other companies.
With the economy still recovering from
“At a certain point, good wages just ar- ing table because of the tight labor market
en’t enough to make up for the toll these and ongoing service problems on the rail-
sorts of working conditions impose on roads, Chen said.
A number of unions have gone on strike the pandemic’s supply chain disruptions,
over the past two years to get better deals. the president’s goal was to keep all parties
Rutgers University professor Todd talking so a deal could be reached.
workers,” Chen said. “The companies
Shippers have complained loudly this
Vachon, who teaches about labor rela-
tions, said rail workers were particularly en the dynamics that have contributed to
attuned to work-life balance and the abili- soaring inflation and created a political
Biden also knew a stoppage could wors-
need to treat workers like human beings, year about delays and poor service as rail-
rather than just inputs in a business pro- roads struggled to hire quickly enough to
cess.”
handle a surge in demand as the economy
The railroad unions pointed to workload emerged from the pandemic. The shipping
ty to take time off for health reasons.
headache for the party in power.
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Race from 1A
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