• News
  • Guides
  • Reviews
  • Media
  • About
  • News
  • Guides
  • Reviews
  • Media
  • About
Sign up Now (For Free)

Sign up for our newsletter and receive the latest automotive news in your inbox!

Invalid email address
We promise not to spam you. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Thanks for subscribing!
News
Read Now
  • All News
  • Automakers
  • Automobiles
  • Auto Shows
  • Business
  • EVs & Environment
  • Guides
  • Lawsuits/Legal
  • Regulatory
  • Ride-Sharing
  • Safety & Recalls
  • Technology
Recent
  • GMC Launches Production of Hummer SUV; Needs Until 2024 to Fill Outstanding Orders
  • Vehicle Sales Up for January Despite Ongoing Challenges
  • Bidding Adieu to Bugatti’s W16 Engine
  • Ford “Significantly” Raising Production of Mustang Mach-E While Reducing Prices “Across the Board”
  • Week Ahead: Numbers, Numbers and More Numbers
  • The Rearview Mirror: All That the Name Implies
  • Top Tips for Improving EV Range in Cold Weather
  • Mercedes is First Automaker to Offer True Level 3 Hands-Free Driving System in the U.S.
  • Audi Introduces Fourth “Sphere” Concept: Activesphere
  • Jaguar Land Rover Posts First Profitable Quarter in Two Years
Editor’s Choice
    Reviews
    Read Now
    • All Reviews
      • Feeder
    • Classic Cars
    • Concept Cars
    • Convertibles
    • Coupes
    • Crossovers/CUVs
    • Diesel
    • Hot hatches
    • Hybrids
    • Luxury Vehicles
    • Minivans
    • Muscle Cars
    • Pickups
    • Sedans
    • Sports Cars
    • Super Cars
    • SUVs
    Recent Reviews
    • A Week With: 2023 Ford F-150 Raptor R 4x4 Super Crew
    • A Week With: 2023 Genesis Electrified G80 AWD
    • A Week With: 2023 Land Rover Defender 110 V-8
    • First Drive: 2023 Honda Pilot TrailSport
    • A Week With: 2023 Jaguar F-Type R Coupe
    • A Week With: 2023 GMC Yukon Denali Ultimate
    • A Week With: 2023 Genesis GV60 Performance
    • A Week With: 2023 Chevrolet Suburban Z71
    • A Week With: 2023 Lexus UX 250h F Sport
    • A Week With: 2023 Mercedes-Benz EQB 300 4Matic
    Editor’s Choice
      Guides
      Car Warranty
      • Endurance Warranty Reviews
      • BMW Extended Warranty
      • Extended Warranty For Cars Over 100k Miles
      • Extended Car Warranty Cost
      • Subaru Extended Warranty
      • CarShield Reviews
      • CarShield Cost
      • Aftermarket Car Warranty
      • CARCHEX Warranty Reviews
      • Reputable Extended Car Warranty Companies
      • Used Car Warranty Companies
      • Best Car Warranty
      • Is CarShield A Scam?
      • Mercedes Extended Warranty
      • CarShield Plans
      Insurance
      • How To Identify A Car Insurance Company
      • Geico Mechanical Breakdown Insurance
      • How Far Back Does A Car Insurance Company Look
      • Mechanical Breakdown Insurance For Used Cars
      • State Farm Mechanical Breakdown Insurance
      • Mechanical Breakdown Insurance From Progressive
      • Dollar A Day Insurance
      • Auto Insurance For SSI Recipients
      • Car Insurance Rates After A Suspended License
      • Auto Insurance For Salvage Vehicles
      • Average Cost of Dodge Ram 1500 Car Insurance
      • Car Insurance Florida
      • Full Coverage Auto Insurance
      • GrubHub Insurance
      • Amazon Delivery Auto Insurance
      Shipping
      • Car Shipping Companies
      • uShip Reviews
      • Auto Shipping From California To Hawaii
      • Montway Auto Transport Reviews
      • Cheap Car Shipping
      • Easy Auto Ship Reviews
      • Auto Shipping Miami
      • Auto Shipping To Alaska
      • Car Shipping Cost
      • Auto Shipping Hawaii
      • Auto Shipping Puerto Rico
      • Sherpa Auto Transport Reviews
      • Auto Shipping Atlanta
      • Auto Shipping Boston
      • Auto Shipping. Chicago
      About
      • About Us
      • Contact Us
      • Terms of Use
      • Privacy Policy
      • Affiliate Disclosure
      • Sitemap
      TheDetroitBureau.com

      More than just “another” place to find news, reviews, spy shots, commentary, features, and guides about the auto industry. TheDetroitBureau doesn’t stop with the press releases or confuse a few lines of opinion with insightful, in-depth reporting.

      Contact Us

      Like what you see? Have some ideas for making The Detroit Bureau.com even better? Let us know, we’d love to hear your voice.

        Media
        Listen Now
        • Headlight News: All Episodes
        More from TheDetroitBureau
        • Guides
        • Latest News
        • Auto Reviews
        • Podcasts
        Headlight News

        TheDetroitBureau.com’s Headlight News offers a look at the past week’s top automotive news stories, as well as what’s coming up in the week ahead. Check out the week’s top story and our latest review…along with a dive into the past with this week in automotive history.

        home > news > UAW/union > Automakers Face Another Disruption with Looming Rail Strike

        Automakers Face Another Disruption with Looming Rail Strike

        Even the threat of a stoppage can snarl production.

        Joseph Szczesny
        Joseph Szczesny , Executive Editor
        Nov. 30, 2022

        For the past two years, automakers have faced major disruptions in their carefully balanced supply chains.

        Biden bans Russian oil one
        President Biden said he believes a rail strike can and will be avoided.

        Now they are hoping President Joe Biden and a divided Congress can help avoid the ultimate shock — a rail strike, which would not only halt assembly lines right across the industry but also curtail delivery of new vehicles across the United States.

        Biden said Tuesday he is “confident” a rail strike will be avoided while meeting with key congressional leaders.

        Legislation necessary

        “It’s not an easy call but I think we have to do it,” Biden said while meeting with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell. “The economy is at risk,” Biden added.

        Pelosi said the House could vote on legislation to avert the rail shutdown as soon as Wednesday, which could set up action in the Senate later this week or next.

        The legislation would be based on long-standing federal laws, some dating back to the 19th Century, which allow for Congressional intervention. The legislation also allows Congress to impose a settlement on both the railroads and their unions.

        Nancy Pelosi 2021
        House Majority Leader Nancy Pelosi said the House could vote this week on legislation to avert a strike.

        Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) said he was prepared to introduce an amendment to the rail legislation, which would force the employers to give their employees up to seven additional days of paid sick leave each year. The extra sick time has been a major sticking point, according to unions, such as the sheet metal workers union, which turned down a tentative agreement negotiated in September.

        Rail union prepare for walkouts

        A status quo agreement between Transportation Division of the International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail, and Transportation Workers (SMART-TD) have voted to reject it, and management is in effect until Dec. 8. Beginning Dec. 9, SMART-TD would be allowed to go on strike, or the rail carriers would be permitted to lock out workers — unless Congress intervenes.

        “The ball is now in the railroads’ court. Let’s see what they do. They can settle this at the bargaining table,” said SMART-TD President Jeremy Ferguson. “But the railroad executives who constantly complain about government interference and regularly bad mouth regulators and Congress now want Congress to do the bargaining for them.”

        If there is a strike by SMART-TD or any of the other three rail unions that have rejected proposed contracts with the carriers, BLET and the other eight rail unions that have ratified agreements have pledged to lawfully honor their picket lines.

        Paint Booth at Kentucky Truck Plant
        If a strike occurs, or even seems imminent, paint shipments will likely be halted, causing production delays.

        “We stood shoulder to shoulder with our brothers and sisters in SMART-TD and others in rail labor throughout this process, and we will continue to stand in solidarity with them as we approach the finish line in this round of negotiations,” said Dennis Pierce, president of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen.

        What could happen

        Accepting Sanders amendment would serve as convenient way for Biden, who likes to describe himself as the most pro-union President, siding with management on a dispute over time off observers say the railroad have created by cutting their operating staffs.

        Sanders also has said in a television interview his amendment will serve as test of Republican claims the support working-class Americans rather than the interests of Big Business.

        The auto industry could begin feeling the impact of even the continuing threat of a strike 96 hours — or four days — before the Dec. 9 deadline or early next week because rail carriers have said they would have to begin shutting down critical shipments of chemicals to their customers. The supply of paint needed to finish vehicles would probably be disrupted.

        In addition, any walkout would very likely snarl the disposition of carriers used to move finished vehicles from assembly plants and deep-water ports on the East and West Coasts to dealerships. More than half of all new vehicles travel by rail at some point in their journey to customers, according to experts familiar with the process.

        FreightWaves reported rail moved $84 billion in goods across the U.S.-Mexico border in 2021, with more than 246,000 loaded rail containers passing through the port of entry in Laredo, Texas. The Laredo rail crossing is the busiest on the border, averaging about 24 trains daily in both directions.

        How to Care for Your Car

        Cheap Car Warranty

        Editor's Choice

        Best Extended Car Warranty

        Editor's Choice
        Recently Published
        GMC chief Duncan Aldred 2023

        GMC Launches Production of Hummer SUV; Needs Until 2024 to Fill Outstanding Orders

        Yesterday
        Closeup of front side of red car with other cars parking in parking area.

        Vehicle Sales Up for January Despite Ongoing Challenges

        Yesterday

        Bidding Adieu to Bugatti’s W16 Engine

        Yesterday

        Leave a Reply Cancel reply

        Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

        Share this article:
        © The Detroit Bureau 2023
        • Guides
        • Privacy Policy
        • Terms of Use
        • Affiliate Disclosure
        • Contact Us
        • Sitemap
        Follow Us: