There are all level of labor shortages in the United States today. There are skilled labor shortages, unskilled labor shortages and everything in between. Recently Congress passed bill forcing rail workers to settle for a new contract but rail workers weren’t happy with it.
From Finance Yahoo:
Railroad workers could leave the industry after Congress forced through a contract that does not provide them any paid sick days, an exodus that would ripple through an economy reliant on freight railroads to transport goods.
The exit of thousands of train conductors and engineers would be felt by major corporations and U.S. consumers alike. It could slow the delivery of food, fuel and online orders while strangling already-shaky supply chains.
Finance Yahoo
We asked and no one here would take a rail job, or any job, that offered zero paid sick days so I’m not sure why we expect rail workers to be any different.
This is literally a train wreck in the making and we can all see what is coming but nothing is being done. By mid 2023, if even 10% of rail workers quit it will likely have huge impact on delays, accidents and possibly major incidents involving train derailments and catastrophic damage.
If rail workers should quit in large numbers, there will be profit opportunities in alternative modes of transport so we’ll keep an eye out. Stay tuned, stay profitable and stay solvent…