American railroad businesses and their workers reached a tentative agreement on Sept. 15, one day before union strikes were set to begin. The issue has been nearly resolved thanks to partial pressure from the Biden administration.
The deal was reached between unions and U.S. railroads and is being reviewed by workers. Marty Walsh, U.S. Secretary of Labor, oversaw the deal between the railroads and union, which took roughly 20 hours to come to an agreement. Walsh said in an interview with Reuters that the deal was a “very nice contract” for workers. However, a handful of those workers continue to protest, as they are still unsatisfied with working conditions and pay.
The rail strike was a result of slow-moving negotiations between unions representing over 100,000 workers and railroad businesses over disagreements in their contracts. Negotiations started in the fall of 2019, but due to the COVID-19 outbreak of 2020, meetings between unions and railroads slowed down to a halt. After three years of failing to come to an agreement, workers announced the strike.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, there are over 150,000 rail workers in the United States in 2022, a fourth of the number of rail workers in 1970. Due to this ever-shrinking amount, workers end up being on call 24/7, constantly working long shifts for most of their weeks.
The deal will increase workers’ wages by 14.1% as well as allowing workers to seek the medical care they need without railroad companies punishing them. Of the 12 unions, only 2 of them ratified this deal.
Despite the controversy and anger coming from workers, President Biden states in the White House Rose Garden that this could open doors for better union deals in additional industries too. “I’m optimistic that we can do this in other fields as well.”
Alex Ross
Alex Rossis a third-year Communication student at Lock Haven with a focus in Journalism. This is his second year as an active member of the Eagle Eye and has been the Arts and Entertainment editor, News editor, and an active writer. He focuses on writing reviews for the A&E section, but has written stories for news, sports, and opinions. Outside of the newsroom, Alex enjoys record shopping, reading classic literature, and analyzing films. Alex hopes to work for a film or music news site as a writer or editor after graduation.
