Sign up now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comSign up WASHINGTON/LOS ANGELES, Sept 12 (Reuters) – The Biden administration urged railroads and unions to reach a deal to avoid a rail shutdown, saying on Monday it would have an “unacceptable effect” on the U.S. economy that would it could cost $2 billion a day. Railroads, including Union Pacific ( UNP.N ), Berkshire Hathaway’s ( BRKa.N ) BNSF, CSX ( CSX.O ) and Norfolk Southern, have until one minute after midnight Friday to strike tentative deals with unions that represent approximately 60,000 workers. Failure to do so opens the door to union strikes, employer lockouts and congressional intervention. read more US Labor Secretary Marty Walsh is postponing a trip to Ireland to remain in talks, the department announced Monday. Sign up now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comSign up “The parties continue to negotiate and last night Secretary Walsh again pledged to press the parties to reach a resolution that prevents any disruption to our rail system,” a Labor Department spokesman said. “All parties must remain at the table, negotiate in good faith to resolve the outstanding issues and reach an agreement.” The impasse comes at a sensitive time for unions, railroads, shippers, consumers and President Joe Biden, who appointed an emergency council to help break the impasse. A White House official told Reuters that Biden was in touch today with unions and companies to try to prevent a strike, as were Cabinet officials. U.S. railroads account for nearly 30% of freight by weight and maintain approximately 97% of Amtrak’s commuter rail lines. Widespread rail disruptions could suffocate food and fuel supplies, cause transport chaos and fuel inflation. read more Unions, which have won significant wage increases, are pushing back against work rules that would require workers to be on call and available for work most days. Railroads are struggling to rebuild their ranks after cutting their workforce by nearly 30 percent over the past six years. At noon Wednesday, Norfolk Southern will stop accepting intermodal cargo: freight that moves by a combination of ships, trucks and rail. These shipments include consumer products and e-commerce packages that account for nearly half of US rail traffic. That could worsen existing backups at East Coast ports and inland hubs, causing escalating delays across the country as farmers prepare for harvest and retailers stock stores for the Christmas shopping season. Bulk commodities—including food, energy, automotive and construction products—make up the remainder of U.S. rail shipments. US industry groups are pushing Congress to avert a worst-case scenario. “A shutdown of the nation’s rail service would have enormous national consequences,” the Chamber said Monday, adding that it would lead to food waste, disrupt the delivery of goods and prevent the transportation of heating fuel and chemicals. The Labor Department said there have been dozens of calls from Cabinet officials and other top administration officials to help the sides reach an agreement. Railroads late last week said they would stop shipments of hazardous materials such as chlorine used to purify drinking water and chemicals used in fertilizers on Monday so they don’t end up in hazardous locations if rail traffic is halted. read more On Sunday, two unions negotiating contracts said the stoppage of hazardous shipments was designed to give employers leverage ahead of this week’s deadline to secure labor agreements. read more As of Sunday, eight of the 12 unions had reached tentative agreements covering about half of the 115,000 workers, the National Railroad Labor Conference (NRLC) said. Member states include the transport section of the International Union of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transport Workers (SMART-TD) and the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainers (BLET). There hasn’t been a nationwide disruption to rail service since 1992, when major freight railroads shut down for two days in response to an International Union of Engineers strike against CSX, saying a strike on one railroad was a strike on all railways. Sign up now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comSign up Reporting by David Shepardson and Lisa Baertlein. Editing by Chizu Nomiyama, Jonathan Oatis and Josie Kao Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
