One week ago, the US was seized with the terror of knowing that a rail strike was possibly coming in just seven days and that strike could upend transportation and drive an already struggling supply chain deeper into chaos. Thankfully, we woke up this morning to the news that a tentative agreement has been reached, and the strike will be averted for a few more weeks in the worst-case scenario.
Though ten of twelve unions had come together with a general acceptance, two holdouts were fighting for quality-of-life concessions. Once the salary and raises were ironed out, many laborers wanted the “draconian” attendance, on-call, vacation, and sick time handled before they would be willing to sign on. The final details have yet to be confirmed, but anonymous sources confirm that the quality-of-life issues were dealt with in the negotiation.
Because this is a tentative agreement, there’s always the chance that the bottom could fall out or that one side could be negotiating in bad faith, but even if the deal blows up, rail operations are safe for a few weeks as the cooling-off period is essentially extended for a few more weeks while the final details are set into the contract. Few expect any hiccups, but experience forces a good logistics expert to look at the reality of the situation and know how to pivot quickly if there becomes an issue in the rail negotiation.
Part of working with an experienced logistics professional is the peace of mind knowing that we’ve seen it all and have the background to ensure that your cargo is kept safe during disruption. As we showed during the pandemic traffic jam on the west coast, we could divert to Norfolk and avoid delays. In the case of a rail strike, your representative at Nelson International will work with truckers and domestic air carriers to ensure minimal disruption. Contact us today to learn more about our services.
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