When I went to Howard Payne, one of the things that all students were annoyed about was the blasting horn of the train late at night. The conductors had to do that to warn people, “Hey, there’s a train coming.”  Additionally, it is very annoying to have to wait for the endless train to finally pass before I can cross.

But this past week has given me more insight and appreciation into those train conductors and engineers. President Biden earlier this month signed a new agreement passed by both the house and the senate to settle a labor dispute between the railroad industries, and 4 of 12 railroad unions. 

The dispute led the unions to threaten a strike in early December that would have harmed the United States economy in multiple ways. That is why hundreds of industries signed a letter to congress, including the Texas Truckers Association.

Under The Railroad Labor Act, Congress can settle contracts and disputes, make laws that regulate the railroad industry, and intervene if there is a threat of a strike. Freight matters a great deal to the US economy, including transporting 30-40% of goods and services.

It was projected that if the railroad workers went on strike, it would cost the US economy $2 billion a day (you read that right). Prices across all categories would go up because freight matters a lot in transportation. The supply chain in America runs on a significant amount of freight. Hundreds of associations pleaded to Congress to settle this dispute because of what would matter for the economy and that was the focus in signing the agreement that Congress has the power to settle under The Railway Labor Act. 

The deal that the federal government forced the unions to accept was a five-year contract that provided a 24% pay increase, a $5,000 bonus, and an additional paid personal day. Sounds pretty good, right?

Well…not to the railroad workers. Every few years the unions and the industry work out contracts for the workers. This time it became more public over workers’ quality of life issues.

Railroad conductors do not get paid sick leave. Despite the increased pay benefits, the industry leaders would not budge when it came to 7 days of paid sick leave.

Why is that? The railroad industries run on a system to gain more profit with less labor and output. While the railroad companies are making record profits, they have been accused of providing poor service to the industries they are supposed to serve.

It’s called Precision Scheduled Railroading. The railroad industry cuts costs for labor and output while increasing profits. They can load more train cars onto a single train rather than have multiple trains taking up space. Thus they would only need a few personnel working on the trains. It makes sense efficiently, but it hurts the railroad workers because, with few workers, that means they cannot afford to miss days and they are penalized for missing days if they do. These days off must be scheduled a month in advance.

Additionally, with more efficiency and fewer workers, effectiveness goes down. Trains fail to provide goods on time, halt traffic with longer freight, and with so much put on railroad workers, it makes sense when they miss something important.

As the deal came down upon 4 of the 12 unions, workers are still protesting for a better quality of life, rather than having to pick and choose if they will spend that personal day or medical needs, or family time.