The U.S. transportation system is already starting to feel the effects of a potential rail strike, but any pain will be short-lived no matter how far apart the sides are at a Friday deadline because Congress will not allow supply chains to seize up again.
Just after midnight Thursday, rail workers can go on strike or railroad management can lock them out. Any strike or lockout won’t last long, though. Under the Railway Labor Act, Congress can step in to either impose a resolution based on a Presidential Emergency Board plan that was submitted in August or order trains to operate as usual while the two sides continue to negotiate.
The last time a rail labor loggerhead devolved into a strike was in 1991, and the walkout lasted about a day. Congress resolved the conflict with a bill approved late at night, forcing aides to wake up President George Bush to sign it after 1 a.m. If the two sides can’t come to an agreement before Friday, the bigger question is whether Congress will take the safe route and adopt the board’s plan as-is or take a political risk to add changes that would favor the unions. At least 10 Republican senators will have to get on board to put an end to a strike or lockout.
