Tentatively Making the Trains Run on Time

Global supply chains are decidedly intermodal, and rail plays a much larger role than many people may realize. The potential for a rail workers' strike recently dominated news headlines… until it didn't. The strike was averted at the 11th hour by efforts made by Labor Secretary Marty Walsh. But is the strike risk really behind us? Nothing is over until it is over, and the membership of the 12 unions involved in the agreement still have to vote. If they don't ratify the agreement, the potential impact has been estimated at $2 Billion per day. In this week's Dial P audio podcast, Kelly Barner moves beyond the headlines about the rail workers' strike to better understand the real status of this important supply chain channel: • What did the rail unions want from their new contract? • The terms and conditions are on the table for union vote • What we learned from news coverage of the strike, and whether there will be future implications of the new agreement