By Lisa Baertlein and David Shepardson
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – The largest U.S. trucking industry group on Friday urged Congress to be prepared to prevent railroad shutdowns if major U.S. railways and the unions representing their workers do not have labor contracts in place by Sept. 16.
“Congress should take swift action … to avoid a debilitating and unnecessary labor disruption that could cost the country billions each day,” Chris Spear, chief executive of the American Trucking Associations (ATA), wrote in a letter to congressional leadership on Friday.
Contract negotiations between railways including Union Pacific, Berkshire Hathaway’s BNSF, and CSX and unions representing 115,000 worker hit an impasse this summer. President Joe Biden stepped in, appointing an emergency board that made settlement recommendations to help avoid disruptions to food and fuel supplies and worsening inflation.
The railroads and unions have until just after midnight on Sept. 16 to reach a deal based on the board’s recommendations. Failing to do so opens the door to union strikes, employer lockouts and congressional intervention.
In the early 1990s, Congress required the two sides to engage in final and binding arbitration to prevent disruptions to shipping activities.
Unions and freight railroads have so far reached tentative agreements covering 21,000 workers represented by five of the 12 unions involved in the negotiations.
Talks are “active and ongoing” a spokesperson for the Association of American Railroads said on Friday. Unions involved in the talks were not immediately available for comment.
A railroad work stoppage would cost the U.S. economy $2 billion per day in output and require 467,000 long-haul trucks daily to handle shipments diverted from rail – exceeding supply, AAR said.
“Additional insecurity placed on the still fragile U.S. supply chain – as we recover from COVID and other supply chain stressors and move towards the holiday season – will harm the economy at large and individual Americans,” ATA’s Spear said.
(Reporting by Lisa Baertlein in Los Angeles; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)
