US rail strike could cost $2 BILLION a day ...

US rail strike could cost $2 BILLION a day and spark commuter chaos for hundreds of thousands as regional agencies plan for stoppages AND Amtrak cancels long distance-service

An impending strike by US railroad workers is predicted to affect hundreds of thousands of travelers and cost the nation $2 billion a day

Amtrak, the nation’s cross-country railway system, canceled nearly all of its trips along the East Coast scheduled for Friday

Railroads in Chicago, South California, and Virginia are preparing for service stoppages as early as Thursday evening

The Biden administration is now scrambling to get the unions to accept a deal before the strike is set to begin on Friday at midnight

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11213769/National-r…

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https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11213769/National-r…

Gotta be thankful the British Press is paying attention to what is going on in the U.S.
The U.S. Press is still wondering which bathroom to use or even if they should get dressed to go to work.

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Actually, it’s a matter of which US media you read. Been front-page news for a while:

https://www.cnn.com/2022/09/15/business/railroad-strike-aver…

Railroad strike averted after marathon talks reach tentative deal

Unions and management reached a tentative deal early Thursday, averting a freight railroad strike that had threatened to cripple US supply chains and push prices higher for many goods.

The deal with unions representing more than 50,000 engineers and conductors was announced just after 5 a.m. ET in a statement from the White House, which called it “an important win for our economy and the American people.”

It came after 20 hours of talks between the unions’ leadership and the railroads’ labor negotiators hosted by Labor Secretary Marty Walsh. They began their meeting Wednesday morning with the clock ticking down to a strike that had been set to start at 12:01 am ET on Friday.

President Joe Biden called in personally to talk to negotiators around 9 pm ET Wednesday, according to a person familiar with negotiations. Biden stressed that catastrophic harm could come to families, businesses and communities if the rail system shut down.

The agreement does not mean the threat of a strike has gone away entirely. The deal needs to be ratified by union members. But it’s good news for a wide range of businesses that depend upon the freight railroads to continue to operate, and for the wider US economy. About 30% of the nation’s freight moves by rail.

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The deal needs to be ratified by union members.

The deal offers lots of money, and an extra paid day off, if the workers are allowed to use it.

The big sticking point for the workers is the requirement to be “on call” 24/7. This contract ignores that point. I have had jobs where I was treated as being “on call” close to 24/7. Pain in the a$$. I would just be getting ready to heat up supper at 6:45, and be called in to work, on 10 minutes notice, to work past midnight, regardless whether I had homework to do, or an early class in the morning.

And, of course, if they lose employees because of management’s demanding the workers stay welded to their phone, and drop whatever they are doing, cancel their plans, and bail the “JC” out of a staffing problem, repeatedly, the “JCs” will whine “no-one wants to work”.

The airlines are having the same issue. Management schedules more flights than they can staff. Aircrews are grousing, loudly, about being called in and required to pull OT at a high rate. Delta pilots have been grousing they will pull more OT this year, than 2018 and 2019, combined.

Not everyone is willing to sacrifice any sort of life outside of work, for years/decades on end, to make the “JC” richer. Ratification of that contract is not guaranteed.

Steve

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Steve, I don’t find fault with what you’re saying, but why don’t they buy some stock?

That way they’d win either way*!*

why don’t they buy some stock?

There are no guaranteed profits with stock.

Rather, they should do as management does–and get a HUGE bonus at the end of every year. If it works for management, the same reward system must work with employees–for the same reason.

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as management does–and get a HUGE bonus at the end of every year.

And get the bonus regardless of performance. JPM’s shareholder return last year was below industry average, but Jamie Dimon’s payout was increased from $30M in 2020, to $80M for 21.

Thing is, not everyone wants to spend every waking moment either working or being ready to work for years or decades on end. Some people entertain hopes of a home life, a family, a vacation once in a while. The workers are saying it isn’t the money, it’s the constant demands of management to cancel all plans, drop everything, and rush to work at the drop of the “JC’s” hat.

Steve

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The workers are saying it isn’t the money, it’s the constant demands of management to cancel all plans, drop everything, and rush to work at the drop of the “JC’s” hat.

Cross-train all mgmt in doing the jobs of railway workers. Larger labor pool to man the rails “on call”. Mgmt would LOVE having a “larger labor pool” from which to draw workers. Oh, they do NOT want to be required to work 24/7? Too bad, they gotta do it anyway. If it is “too hard” for mgmt, then it would be “too hard” for others as well.

If it is “too hard” for mgmt, then it would be “too hard” for others as well.

Gasp, make the “JCs” leave the golf course and actually do something? MUST NOT BURDEN JCs! I say that as the guy who was always ordered to do the work of others, so that management would not have to try to get the others to pull their weight. My boss at the pump seal company actually tossed me an extra nickle one year, as he was saying how great it was having me in the department…because when he asked anyone else to do anything, he got a lot of whining and b!tc4ing, but when he dropped a file on my desk, he never heard about it again, because I took care of it. Like railroad management, my bosses were totally oblivious to what the real issue was, as they pushed me into working 12-13 hrs/day, and refused my vacation requests.

Steve