Say No to Freight Rail Strike

Back in July, long before the threat of a freight rail strike was looming, I told you how important freight rail is to our economy.  Four of the 12 unions representing freight rail workers have rejected a deal that would prevent a December 9 walkout. The contract spurned by bargaining units included a 24 percent pay raise by 2024, annual $1,000 bonuses, and no increases in health care costs. But the proposed deal guarantees only one sick day a year instead of the 15 sought by iron benders and gandy dancers.  The Railway Labor Act authorizes Congress to impose a contract if no agreement is reached with rail carriers.  President Joe Biden calls himself a friend of organized labor, but has already called on Congress to intervene. This is a no-brainer. 

The freight must flow. 

This is also why I oppose the expansion of passenger rail. Fright rail is too damn important. Privately-owned freight lines should never be forced to cede control of its tracks to accommodate Amtrak, which is perhaps the most inefficient passenger rail in the country.  "To do anything to knowingly undermine the fluidity of the freight network is frankly wrongheaded and at odds with the overarching goal of maximizing freight movement, " says Ian Jefferies of the Association of American Railroads. 

The freight must flow. 

Freight rail is  important to both our economy and environment. 

Freight rail owns 140,000 miles of track, transports a third of all exports and 40% of our long-distance freight volume. It has become immensely profitable, earning $71 billion in 2019, and its volume is expected to grow 50% by 2050.  

Environmentally, it emits about 25% of the pollution you'll find from trucking. It handles what are often called the "middle miles" as intermodal containers are offloaded from ships directly onto trains about 200 cars long and then are passed off to trucks for the final miles.

Expansion of passenger rail, which has never made a profit, will actually result in more congestion because there will be more trucks on the road. 

We already have passenger trains going to NYC. It is called Transbridge Bus, and is privately owned. 

We're wasting federal dollars to study, yet again, the feasibility of passenger rail. If we recognize that  freight rail is important enough to require Congressional intervention to prevent a strike, then it's timeto drop these pipedreams of riding the choo-choo.. 

Interruption of freight rail for a strike or passenger service would be an economic catastrophe.  A strike would interrupt the shipment of 300,000 barrels of oil daily, delay the shipment of new cars, slow the transport of refrigerated food and result in numerous Christmas shortages. 

The freight must flow.