Working Women’s History Project’s newsletter will include articles in the next few issues about news concerning transportation, and how it affects its workers and riders from the Chicagoland area
We will begin with news about railway and train workers
In an article by staff writer for Patch.com Amie Schaenzer reports about the Chicago connection.
In her article, titled “Railway Strike Averted: What It Means for The Chicago Area, State,” she writes about the tentative agreement.
ILLINOIS — A tentative labor agreement has been reached between railroads and workers unions across the nation, preventing a strike that could've crippled railway traffic across the U.S. and Chicago area and dealt another blow to the economy.
According to Schaenzer, because of the tentative agreement, “Railway traffic will continue to flow through Chicago, which is one of the busiest hubs in the U.S.” Metra said Thursday [Sept 15, 2022] trains will now run as scheduled.
Her article continues:
Because of its strategic location, “Chicago has been one of the nation's busiest and most important hubs for railway traffic for over 150 years. It is the world's third most active rail intermodal hub, with 26 percent of U.S. freight rail traffic and 42 percent of all intermodal traffic beginning, ending or traveling through Chicago.
The unions, which represent 60,000 employees, negotiated for 20 hours before reaching the agreement early Thursday. The tentative agreements reached with these unions will avert a potential strike in advance of Friday’s deadline, according to a news release from the Association of American Railroads.
The deal still needs to be ratified by union members.
President Joe Biden said in a statement. "These rail workers will get better pay, improved working conditions, and peace of mind around their health care costs: all hard-earned."
The tentative agreement reached on September 15, 2022 was a win and ensures that America’s families and communities will continue to get deliveries.
Another article, for CNBC titled, “Railroads and Labor Unions Reach Tentative Deal to Avert Strike,” by Leslie Josephs and Lori Ann LaRocco published September 15, 2022, emphasized these key points:
- Railroads and workers’ unions reached a tentative labor agreement early Thursday [September 15, 2022]
- The deal averts a national rail strike that threatened to shut down a major segment of the U.S. transportation network.
- The new contracts provide 24% pay increases over five years from 2020 through 2024 and include immediate payouts averaging $11,000 upon ratification, in addition to an extra paid day off for workers.
Their article continues:
The last-minute deal avoids massive disruptions to the flow of key goods and commodities around the country. About 40% of the nation’s long-distance trade is moved by rail. If the unions had gone on strike, more than 7,000 trains would have been idled, costing up to an estimated $2 billion per day.
~Edited by Joan Morris
