The administration continues to try to resolve the railroad labor dispute.
Passenger railroad company Amtrak announced late Wednesday that they will be canceling all of their long-distance routes in preparation for a potential freight rail strike that could begin on Friday. Services between New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Seattle, New Orleans, and Miami were suspended as of Wednesday on top of the four other routes Amtrak suspended the previous day.
“While these negotiations do not involve Amtrak or the Amtrak workforce, many of our trains operate over freight railroad tracks,” Amtrak said in their service alert. The company said they will only operate trains for the remainder of the week that are likely to reach their destinations before Friday. “Amtrak is closely monitoring ongoing freight rail management-labor contract negotiations,” they said.
Labor Secretary Marty Walsh took part in discussions between labor union officials and representatives of the rail companies on Wednesday. Ten of twelve labor unions have agreed to terms, but the two largest have not. If questions regarding sick leave penalties are not resolved, the ten will strike in solidarity with the holdouts.
A strike would disrupt about thirty percent of the nation’s freight transport and cost the U.S. economy an estimated $2 billion per day. Commodities such as fuel, food, cattle, and building materials are all transported by rail.
UPDATE 8:00 AM EDT
After the announcement of a tentative deal being struck between the railroads and the unions on Thursday morning, Amtrak began restoring its routes.
As the Lord Leads, Pray with Us…
- For government, labor, and company officials as they seek to resolve the labor dispute and avert a shutdown.
- For wisdom for Secretary Walsh and other administration officials as they endeavor to facilitate a solution.
Sources: Townhall, DailyWire, Reuters
