The strike could not legally begin until the evening of Thursday, September 15, at midnight, but it is time for panic in the United States, as a possible paralysis of the railways approaches. Amtrak, the public passenger transport company, canceled its long-distance routes, such as Seattle-Los Angeles, as of Thursday, for fear that its customers would be stranded in the countryside.
Some shipments of chemicals, such as ammonia and fertilizer for farmers, are suspended, so they don’t have to leave these hazardous materials unattended. Those of oil from Canada or the plains of Dakota are also threatened.
Ten unions out of twelve representing 49,000 employees have signed an agreement with the employers, but the base of one of them has rejected it. Above all, two drivers’ unions supposed to carry the voice of 60,000 people have not reached any compromise after negotiations that have lasted three years. The absence of a complete agreement before Thursday evening could tip the entire sector into a strike.
“A national disaster”
A conflict of such magnitude would be unprecedented since 1992 and would be a disappointment for the administration of Joe Biden, as the mid-term elections loom on November 8. The paralysis of the railways would once again block the economy, while the bottlenecks, in particular in the ports, are beginning to be resolved – that of Los Angeles has only a dozen container ships on standby, against a hundred in January.
A strike would cost, according to the American railroad association, 2 billion dollars (2 billion euros) per day, or 3% of gross domestic product
Minor in passenger transport, rail plays a major role in the American economy: it represents an essential link in the intermodal transport (sea, rail, truck) of containers, as well as agricultural, petroleum and chemical products. In the countryside, some 7,000 long-distance convoys stretch, sometimes with more than a hundred wagons and four locomotives, linking Los Angeles to Chicago or Savannah (Georgia) to Nashville (Tennessee). Traffic is handled by seven main private companies, such as CSX, Union Pacific and BNSF, 22 regional and nearly 600 local.
A strike would cost, according to the Association of American Railways, 2 billion dollars (2 billion euros) per day, or 3% of gross domestic product. The American Chamber of Commerce regrets in advance “a national disaster”, while the association of petroleum producers fears disruptions “catastrophic”.
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