An escalating labor dispute in America’s rail system is drawing attention to an often-overlooked piece of the economy: its role in the national supply chain.
Supply chain struggles have been snarling the economy for months, delaying goods and driving inflation. But for the most part, efforts to relieve the backlog have been focused on seaports and trucking—an oversight freight rail workers want to see fixed.
A Biden-appointed board last week issued a set of recommendations to resolve the dispute, but there’s no telling whether the unions and rail companies will agree. If they don’t, it could lead to a national rail strike of 115,000 workers this fall, ahead of midterm elections.
Railroad workers’ complaints are similar to those of other employees who have threatened to walk out in the wake of the pandemic: They’re overworked, understaffed, and underpaid, and they’ve been operating without a contract for more than two years.
The tension started long before Covid-19, when major railroads began rolling out “precision scheduled railroading” plans to boost efficiency. The plans have lots of moving parts, but railroad workers say overall they have resulted in staffing shortages and decreased inspections, making the job more demanding and dangerous.
Large rail carries cut staff by 29% in the last six years, according to the Surface Transportation Board. Railroad employment as a whole has shrunk by more than 20% since 2018—a loss of 40,000 jobs,...
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