Rail strike potential grows, threatening to worsen supply chain backlogs, inflation
NBCNov 25, 2022
Fears of US Railroad Strike Grow Ahead of Holidays
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Image copyright: Reuters [via The Washington Post]
The Facts
The SMART Transportation Division (SMART-TD), one of the largest railroad unions in the US representing about 57K conductors and engineers, announced Monday that it narrowly voted to reject a White House-brokered contract. It's threatening to strike starting Dec. 5.
Although a majority of conductors and engineers voted in favor of the contract, the union requires all five classes of workers within its ranks to vote to ratify for it to be approved. Train and engine service members voted 50.87% against it.
The Spin
Republican narrative
It’s bad enough that the Biden admin. botched this agreement and has put the country on the precipice of a catastrophic rail strike. What makes it worse is that the president did a victory lap — even though it wasn’t a done deal, and the deadline was scheduled for after the midterms so it wouldn’t hurt Democrats’ chances. Worse yet, the White House doesn’t have much of a contingency plan for dealing with a work stoppage.
Democratic narrative
With the White House’s help, the companies and the unions made great progress on an agreement that included the largest pay increase in 40 years. This deal was rejected by the narrowest of margins, so there has to be common ground that can be found to avert a strike. It’s time to finish the substantive gains made throughout these negotiations.
