Precision scheduled railroading is a root cause of supply chain crisis

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America's Work Force Union Podcast AWF AFL-CIO Transportation Trades Department

Guest Name:

Greg Regan

Guest Website:

https://ttd.org

Guest Social Media:

Facebook

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AFL-CIO Transportation Trades Department President Greg Regan joined the America’s Work Force Union Podcast and discussed how precision scheduled railroading has exacerbated the supply chain crisis and subjected railway workers to grueling schedules with little sick time.

Precision scheduled railroading simplifies routing networks with a focus on point-to-point freight car transportation.

The nation’s labor shortage, which led to the supply chain crisis, is not something that happened overnight, Regan explained. Its roots actually go back six to eight years when rail companies cut 20 to 30 percent of their workforce in an effort to run a barebones crew, lower costs and maximize profits. When the economy reopened after the pandemic, the demand for cargo surged, with fewer workers to handle the load. The supply chain crisis is a direct result of CEOs treating the nation’s railroads like a hedge fund, he added.

Instead of hiring more people, railroad companies have forced their limited workforce to work extended hours, Regan said. They instituted harsh and punitive attendance policies that threaten workers with the loss of their jobs if they take time off for sickness, to care for their loved ones or due to exhaustion. Many workers do not think they will have a job in a year because they cannot accommodate the strict attendance codes, he said.

Regan also talked about the need to change the definition of assault in order to better document the attacks on transportation workers. Inadequate data on worker assault makes it more difficult to institute policies to protect transportation workers, he added.

Listen to the entire episode to learn more about these topics.

America’s Work Force is the only daily labor podcast in the US and has been on the air since 1993, supplying listeners with useful, relevant input into their daily lives through fact-finding features, in-depth interviews, informative news segments and practical consumer reports. America’s Work Force is committed to providing an accessible venue in which America's workers and their families can hear discussion on important, relevant topics such as employment, healthcare, legislative action, labor-management relations, corporate practices, finances, local and national politics, consumer reports and labor issues.

America’s Work Force Union Podcast is brought to you in part by our sponsors: AFL-CIO, American Federation of Government Employees, American Federation of Musicians Local 4, Alliance for American Manufacturing, Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield, Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employes-IBT, Boyd Watterson, Columbus/Central Ohio Building and Construction Trades Council, Communication Workers of America, Mechanical Insulators Labor Management Cooperative Trust, International Association of Heat and Frost Insulators and Allied Workers Local 50, International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers, International Union of Bricklayers and Allied Crafts, International Union of Painters and Allied Trades District Council 6, Ironworkers Great Lakes District Council, Melwood, The Labor Citizen newspaper, Laborers International Union of North America, The National Labor Office of Blue Cross and Blue Shield, North Coast Area Labor Federation, Ohio Federation of Teachers, United Labor Agency, United Steelworkers.

Precision scheduled railroading is a root cause of supply chain crisis

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