POTENTIAL UPS STRIKE The pending strike by United Parcel Service (UPS) Teamsters is causing widespread concern throughout global supply chains. As negotiations between UPS and the Teamsters stagnate, businesses worldwide are preparing for potential disruptions to shipping and logistics services. The potential August 1, 2023, strike may create bottlenecks and [...]
AIR CARGO PILOTS DEMAND BETTER CONTRACTS Air cargo pilots throughout North America are planning strikes if their demands for better contracts are not met. In Canada, pilots for a startup air cargo company are on the cusp of a labor stoppage, while union members at major integrator company in the [...]
NEW INLAND RAIL HUB The Georgia Ports Authority (GPA) recently overcame a significant environmental obstacle paving the way for construction of a new rail hub in northeast Georgia. GPA has been waiting for the National Environmental Protection Act (NEPA) study to be cleared since 2021, as it was a prerequisite [...]
FOCUS ON SERVICE “The entire Union Pacific team recognizes that 2022 did not meet expectations,” Union Pacific (UP) CEO Lance Fritz said during the company’s recent fourth-quarter earnings call. The lengthy labor negotiations in 2022 strained UP’s workforce leading to customer service issues. For example, UP's Intermodal trains fell [...]
"Our nation’s rail system is literally the backbone of our supply chain, as you all well know. And so much of what we rely on is delivered on our rail, from clean water to food and gas and every — every other good. A rail shutdown would have devastated [...]
U.S. HOUSE BLOCKS RAIL STRIKE Today, the U.S. House of Representatives voted to block a nationwide rail strike by imposing a labor contract weeks before a threatened labor stoppage would impact the economy. The resolution, H.J. Res. 100, seeks to prevent a freight shutdown estimated to cost the U.S. [...]
US MARITIME ADMINISTRATION AWARDS $39 MILLION TO STRENGTHEN SUPPLY CHAIN The U.S. Department of Transportation's Maritime Administration (MARAD) awarded $39 million in grants to fund 12 marine highway projects throughout the Nation under America's Marine Highway Program (AMHP). This grant money was earmarked to boost services on the nation's [...]
TENTATIVE RAIL LABOR AGREEMENTS REACHED PREVENTING STRIKE ACTION All twelve U.S. rail labor unions and the six Class 1 railroads have reached tentative labor agreements in the early morning hours of September 15, 2022. Union members must vote to ratify the agreements for them to take effect however, the [...]
U.S. RAIL EMBARGOES ARE IN EFFECT TODAY Several Class 1 railroads updated their freight embargoes to exceed those recommended by the American Association of Railroads (AAR). Instructions by the AAR to all Class 1 railroads included securing HAZMAT and security-sensitive commodities in preparation for the possibility of a nationwide [...]
U.S. RAIL SERVICE EMBARGOES AND LABOR NEGOTIATIONS UPDATE The two largest rail unions representing roughly 90,000 U.S. rail workers (SMART-TD, Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen) and representatives for the Class 1 Railroads remain deadlocked over contract renewals while President Biden's July executive order that prescribed a "cooling off" period [...]
