The American Trucking Association (ATA) wants Congress to intervene and help resolve the ongoing labor negotiations between the freight rail industry and workers if the parties fail to reach an agreement by Sept. 16.
As the freight industry’s largest customer, the trucking industry said in a letter to Congress on Sept. 9 that a worker strike, if an agreement is not reached, would have dire consequences for the U.S. supply chain.
“Idling all 7,000 long-distance daily freight trains in the U.S. would require more than 460,000 additional long-haul trucks every day, which is not possible based on equipment availability and an existing shortage of 80,000 drivers,” said ATA President and CEO Chris Spear in the letter. “As such, any rail service disruption will create havoc in the supply chain and fuel inflationary pressures across the board.”
Spear said Congress should implement a contract patterned on the recommendations outlined by the Presidential Emergency Board. Additionally, the ATA cautioned against extending the negotiation timeline further, pushing a potential strike deeper into the holiday season when the country’s supply chain is under additional pressure.
“Merely delaying a possible strike through congressional action will simply exacerbate the concerns of consumers and industry. A possible strike or lockout in October or November is arguably worse than one next week—although any disruption will cost the nation billions of dollars of lost productivity,” Spear said.