2022 Rail Strike

Bnsf has created some crap conditions

 

I watch a YouTube channel about shipping. The big railroads and the west coast port workers Int'l Longshoreman Union COULD strike. ILWU has been working without a contract for 2-3 years and say they don't expect to strike, but if the members vote for a strike it could happen.

 

BNSF here, we are striking midnight Thursday into Friday. It’s already set, they won’t budge with our attendance policy. The railroads want to strike so they can push their case for one man crews so it’s coming. A lot of the intermodal facility’s are scab outfits so you might be able to get some loads, but there won’t be any trains running. Congress can force us to work though, don’t see this lasting longer than the weekend.

 

We appreciate the support, it’s going to be interesting. I hope this gets resolved and we get a contract and that everyone can resume their normal activities.

 

Which intermodal are scab? You mean REMPEX that is a subcontractor of the UP and BN and runs most of the midwest/west ramps, they have no control over anything but loading or unloading trains, they don't operate or control the trains, hardly scabs.

Yep, you're going to put a lot of intermodal drivers out of business and those that stay in business, you'll get even worse treatment from drivers than you already get. The middle finger will be the new hello, can't wait for the RR to try and ban drivers for attitude, that could be interesting. Also the comments from a few of my grain customers, if I posted on here would get me a permaban so I won't, but I don't expect the relationship between most customers and train crews to be very nice from here on out.

But, on the upside, we just got a request to run a can from Denver to Houston for $6.50/mile plus layover/hotel/meals to wait for the ship to unload. I suspect a lot of OTR and O/O that can handle it, will get inundated with loads (and rates) which could prove interesting in the future.

I've got one customer who is expecting 6 containers next week, to fulfill 2,500 orders as well as early Christmas stock, they are already 5 weeks late, if they aren't here next week, he has start refunding money and laying off employees, and he has already warned his employees who will be responsible if it happens.

Just remember, the last time UPS went on strike, a lot of freight switched to other LTL's, UPS only gained back about 75% of the freight they lost.

 

They've been operating for years and knew what the job was about when they accepted it. Seems like a really cruddy time to strike when most of the country is already on their knees suffering in a recession-depression combined with historically high fuel prices.

 

BTW, it's funny, you're posting on a trucking forum, but you realize that 90% of the items you guys are complaining in this strike about, truck drivers deal with daily. 90% of those on here, if they get sick can't simply take the day off either, they still have to work, still have to drive, if they park it and tell the company they are too sick, good chance they will probably lose money in the future, be pushed to the bottom of some dispatchers list, or given the worst loads. How many drivers on here can simply take a day off either? I'm a regional driver and go home nightly, but I still have to give my employer 3 weeks minimum notice to take a day off, and 2 weeks minimum notice to leave early, in the even in the event of a family emergency or illness, I can still be written up or fired if I don't follow procedure, how about these guys that are on the road, away from home for 2 or 3 weeks on end, what happens when they have a family emergency, then can't simply drop everything. In your case, and all railroads, 99% of the time, you'll be home within 24 hrs or less, I know a UPRR crew member who's daughter was critically injured in a car accident while he running a train to Kansas. The UP shut the train on a siding, sent crew transport to pick up him and his partner and bring them back to Denver, transport then brought the Kansas swap crew to the train in Colorado to get it moving, yes it messed up a couple schedules, but the train was only delayed about 8 hours. Imagine if that train bound for KC, had been a truck, they wouldn't have simply abandoned the trailer somewhere, the driver would have had to complete the load, then get back. Easily 24+ hrs.