Shippers desperate for Congress intervention to avoid rail strike
While retailers continue to bite their nails in anxiousness over a looming railroad strike, shippers are begging for Congress to further intervene. As the December 9th deadline approaches - the end of a union-proposed “cooling-off” period - a now fourth union has voted and rejected the proposed labor deal that was mitigated by the White House’s Emergency Board.
The timing is challenging in itself, as retailers are depending on the peak season for a large chunk of their yearly revenues. The landscape is different now in a post-Covid world, but supply chain turbulence can greatly disrupt facets of many industries. Failure to ratify the deal proposed in September between the railroads and unions can result in a very difficult Christmas season for many.
The union representing nearly 9,300 workers at Canada’s top two rail companies is signaling a potential work stoppage due to stalled negotiations over working conditions and wage hikes.