Image Credit: Brent Moore / CC
The Tennessee Conservative [By Jason Vaughn] –
It looks like Tennessee companies could be facing additional supply chain issues as railroad workers prepare for a nationwide strike.
Andy Borchers, a business professor at Lipscomb University and an expert in the supply chain said unions are seeking to ensure that rail workers are able to prioritize their families over their work obligations by providing better vacation and sick leave policies.
“What the industry seems to report is the unions are very concerned about how workers are called in, on what basis they can be called to work and they want to have more flexibility about time off, family concerns – the kind of thing I think all of us can identify with,” said Borchers.
Borchers says the strike will be particularly difficult for some businesses because trains are the most effective method for transporting materials such as coal, chemicals, rock, and oil.
The strike could involve some 90,000 workers. Many freight companies are already working on plans for where unused trains will be parked during the strike because leaving them unattended in some areas can pose a hazard.
“It’s a big deal in the rail yards and the immediate areas around those yards because if there was an explosion or something it could be very hazardous to people in the immediate area around a rail yard,” said Borchers.
At least one company, CSX, has already put a temporary halt on the transportation of any toxic or hazardous materials.
“A rail strike is about the last thing the economy needs after years of supply chain issues,” Borchers stated. “We had a risk of west coast dock workers strike that got averted, but now we have the railroad workers that potentially could come to bear.”
According to the Association of American Railroads, the strike could potentially cost the economy more than $2 billion per day.
Borchers said it is hard to predict just how much impact the strike will have on companies or just where that impact will hit hardest.
“Trucks can partly handle the load, although the trucking industry has come out and said we can’t do it all. There will be a variety of products that will be affected and we may not know for sure exactly which ones those are until the breakdown happens,” he stated.
Craig Philip, supply chain expert from Vanderbilt University, says people can expect shortages similar to those seen as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The kinds of things we saw over the last couple of years with COVID and its impact on the supply chain, we are likely to see a repeat of many of those things because in this case we are taking a very important part of the overall supply chain and shutting it down,” said Philip.
About the Author: Jason Vaughn, Media Coordinator for The Tennessee Conservative ~ Jason previously worked for a legacy publishing company based in Crossville, TN in a variety of roles through his career. Most recently, he served as Deputy Director for their flagship publication. Prior, he was a freelance journalist writing articles that appeared in the Herald Citizen, the Crossville Chronicle and The Oracle among others. He graduated from Tennessee Technological University with a Bachelor’s in English-Journalism, with minors in Broadcast Journalism and History. Contact Jason at news@TennesseeConservativeNews.com