According to a statement issued this morning by Metra, a work stoppage threatened by freight railroad workers for this Friday, September 16, would likely shut down all service to and from the Fox Valley.
The threatened action is unrelated to Metra, but because, with the exception of the Metra Electric and Rock Island lines, Metra’s nine other lines either use tracks owned by freight railroads, intersect with tracks operated by our freight partners, or are dispatched by freight railroads, a work stoppage affecting those tracks would directly impede Metra’s ability to function.
Three of the four lines that would directly impact the Fox Valley – the BNSF, Union Pacific Northwest and Union Pacific West – are owned and directly operated by freight railroads. If the work stoppage occurs, Metra expects there will be no service on these lines.
A fourth line, the Milwaukee District West, which services the Elgin area, would likely be affected as well.
It is unclear how long the work stoppage might persist. In it’s statement, Metra indicated that “negotiations between the freight railroads and unions are ongoing, and we are hopeful that a settlement will be reached before the strike deadline.”
The potential work stoppage is national in scope. The major railroads and unions have been in discussion for nearly two years attempting to come to new collective bargaining agreements. The Biden administration and Labor Department have called for an avoidance of any work stoppages due to the significant adverse impacts of such an action to the economy as a whole.
As of Sunday, eight of 12 unions had reached tentative deals covering about half of 115,000 workers, the National Railway Labor Conference (NRLC) said. If agreements with the remaining unions are not reached by 12:01am Friday, all unions have agreed to enforce the work stoppage.
