National Railroad Strike Looms: What It Means In Florida

FLORIDA — Florida is already feeling the ramifications of a looming national freight and passenger railroad strike set to begin Friday. Amtrak announced Wednesday afternoon that it is canceling all long-distance routes starting Thursday.

However, in a statement issued Wednesday, Amtrak said there will be no impact to the Acela route connecting Boston, New York and Washington, D.C., and there will be only minimal changes to Northeast Regional services.

In addition, the Empire Service between New York and Albany; the Keystone Service between New York and Harrisburg; the Amtrak Hartford Line between New Haven and Springfield, Massachusetts; and the Downeaster route between Boston and Brunswick, Maine, will not be impacted.

Amtrak "will only operate trains this week that we can ensure will have enough time to reach their final destinations by 12:01 a.m. on Friday" when the potential strike would go into effect if negotiating parties are unable to reach an agreement, an Amtrak spokesman said.

Amtrak's announcement will not only spoil some passengers' vacation plans, but industry analysts say a walkout by railroad workers could put another crimp in the nation's supply chain and deal a crippling blow to the U.S. economy.

Members of one union rejected a tentative deal with the largest U.S. freight railroads Wednesday while three other unions remained at the bargaining table just days ahead of a strike deadline, threatening to intensify snarls in the nation's supply chain that have contributed to rising prices.

Railroads are trying to reach an agreement with all their other unions to avert a strike before Friday’s deadline. The unions aren't allowed to strike before Friday under the federal law that governs railroad contract talks.

The possible strike stems from scheduling rules that require engineers and conductors with rail companies to be on call seven days a week.

Rail passengers across the nation are already feeling the impact of the dispute between major railroads and unions after Amtrak canceled service on the Southwest Chief route, the Empire Builder route, the California Zephyr route and part of the Texas Eagle route.

Amtrak offers just three routes in Florida: the Auto Train, Silver Meteor and Silver Star, and it is only possible to reach Florida on Amtrak from the East Coast. There are no cross-country routes that stop in Florida.

The Auto Train has one stop — in Sanford, Florida. The Silver Star and Silver Meteor stop up and down the East Coast and into Orlando, Winter Haven and Lakeland in central Florida. But the only stop on the Gulf Coast is the Silver Star at Union Station in Tampa.

In its statement, Amtrak apologized to passengers whose trips will be canceled.

"Amtrak is closely monitoring ongoing freight rail management-labor contract negotiations. While these negotiations do not involve Amtrak or the Amtrak workforce, many of our trains operate over freight railroad tracks. Because the parties have not yet reached a resolution, Amtrak has begun to make initial service adjustments in response to a possible freight railroad service interruption that could occur later this week."

Amtrak said it will attempt to notify passengers at least 24 hours before their train is canceled and promised passengers a full refund. Amtrak suggests passengers sign up for alerts at @AmtrakAlerts.

While Florida doesn't have enough passenger rail service to cause major problems should a strike occur, the Florida Department of Transportation said it could affect Florida's only state-operated commuter train, SunRail, which has 16 stations serving Volusia, Seminole, Orange and Osceola counties.

“The Florida Department of Transportation is aware of ongoing negotiations between rail carriers and rail unions," the FDOT said in a statement issued Wednesday morning. "The department continues to monitor the situation as a labor strike could impact SunRail service. More information will be available as developments occur.”

According to the Central Florida Commuter Rail Commission, the average daily ridership for SunRail is nearly 4,000 passengers per day.

The Brightline passenger high-speed rail, which runs between Miami, Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach, accommodating about 100,000 riders a month, was seemingly unconcerned about the possible strike. The company's most recent tweets Wednesday were focused on plans for its job fair Thursday in Fort Lauderdale and recruiting volunteers for Saturday's coastal cleanup.

Floridians would experience the brunt of the strike's impact at local grocery stores and home improvement centers. The industry warned that a labor walkout would shut down 30 percent of the nation’s freight. In preparation, freight railroads have taken steps to ensure that sensitive and hazardous materials, including chlorine for drinking water, don’t get held up mid-journey.

The Association of American Railroads trade group put out a report last week estimating that shutting down the railroads would cost the economy $2 billion a day cost to the economy.

About 7,000 freight trains traverse rail lines throughout the country every day, according to the Association of American Railroads.

In Florida, there are 15 common freight carriers and eight private carriers.

President Joe Biden blocked a strike by the 115,000 railroad workers through executive action in July, imposing a 60-day “cooling off” period that expires at 12:01 a.m. EDT.

The White House said Tuesday that Secretary of Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and his agency are working to lessen the effects of a strike on critical resources, including food, drinking water and electricity. Politico reported that at least two Cabinet secretaries and Biden are directly involved in efforts to avert a national railroad strike and have spoken with negotiators on both sides of the labor dispute.

The coalition negotiating on behalf of the nation's biggest freight railroads — including Union Pacific, CSX, Norfolk Southern, BNSF and Kansas City Southern — has reached most of the tentative agreements needed to avoid a strike, but high hurdles remain.

Negotiators are at loggerheads on scheduling and sick time policies that conductors and engineers say keep them “on call” even on days they’re not scheduled to work, issues the White House’s Presidential Emergency Board said are best resolved through grievance and arbitration processes.

“The primary resistance comes from Union Pacific and BNSF because of the attendance policies they have adopted which have treated workers so poorly,” Dennis Pierce, the president of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen, told CNBC. “We’re just looking for time away from work to address our medical issues. Union Pacific and BNSF attendance policies are assessing (penalty) points to our members when they just want to take time off for their regular medical appointments.”

Congress could still step in to prevent a strike.

U.S. Chamber of Commerce Secretary Suzanne Clark said Monday that a strike would be an “economic disaster, freezing the flow of goods, emptying shelves, shuttering workplaces and raising prices for families and businesses alike.”

The chamber joins a growing coalition of business groups, including 31 agricultural shipping trade groups, that have sent letters to Congress urging lawmakers to step in and block the strike if the two sides can’t reach an agreement by Friday’s deadline.

The possibility of congressional intervention is a slippery slope, especially for Democrats counting on support and votes from union allies in the November midterms.

“The president is bragging about how much influence he has with unions and how much influence they have with him,” Senate Minority leader Mitch McConnell told reporters Tuesday.

However, Democrats favor waiting to see if the railroads and unions reach an agreement.

“Let’s wait a few days and see if there’s an agreement that’s reached,” Sen. Bernie Sanders, a Vermont independent, told reporters.

Below is a list Amtrak provided late Wednesday afternoon of long-distance trains that have been canceled:

• Canceled Long Distance Trains:
  • Southwest Chief
  • Empire Builder
  • California Zephyr
  • City of New Orleans
  • Coast Starlight
  • Crescent
  • Lake Shore Limited
  • Silver Star
  • Sunset Limited
  • Texas Eagle
  • Auto Train
  • Capitol Limited
  • Cardinal
  • Palmetto (south of Washington)

• Canceled state-supported frequencies for Thursday evening:

• Capitol Corridor
• Cascades
• Heartland Flyer
• Illinois Service
• Michigan Service
• Pacific Surfliner
• Piedmont
• San Joaquins
• Springfield Service (north of Springfield)
• Virginia Service