Clean Drinking Water and Agriculture Products Threatened by Possible Rail Strike

Workers service the tracks at the Metra/BNSF railroad yard outside of downtown Chicago, Ill., on Sept. 13, 2022. (Scott Olson/Getty Images)

An enormous supply chain jam threatens access to clean drinking water, agriculture products, and more, if rail companies and unions can’t agree on a deal by Dec. 8 to prevent a possible Dec. 9 rail strike.

As the strike deadline has moved, coalitions and individual industries have sent numerous letters to President Joe Biden’s administration, urging it to continue working to prevent a strike. These letters describe how a rail strike would affect certain vital sectors such as the supply of clean drinking water.

“A stoppage of rail service in the United States would have a catastrophic effect on the ability of water utilities to treat drinking water and wastewater and to perform other water treatment services,” a joint letter from six water industry officials tells the Biden administration. “This would present a significant threat to human health and to the health of the environment as it would affect our members’ ability to provide safe drinking water and wastewater treatment to significant portions of the United States. The critical products used to disinfect and treat water are typically delivered to distributors by rail, who then ship it to utilities over roadways.”

The letter is signed by executives from the American Water Works Association, National Association of Water Companies, Association of Metropolitan Water Agencies, National Rural Water Association, National Association of Clean Water Agencies, and the Water Environment Federation.

Trouble could start before a strike, the letter warns. The water industry anticipates rail companies will begin slowing shipments of water treatment products in advance of a strike to avoid stranding shipped products in unsecured locations.

Under the 1926 Railway Labor Act, Congress could intervene to keep the railroads operating.

The National Association of Chemical Distributors (NACD) agrees that any interruption to freight rail service would risk water treatment facilities across the country not having the chemicals needed to operate. And there is more.

NACD members process, formulate, blend, repackage, warehouse, market, and transport chemical products for over 750,000 customers across the United States in nearly every industry sector including cosmetics, automotive, paints, and foods, the association said in a letter to Congress.

“Inflation is impacting all Americans,” the NCAD letter said. “A freight rail stoppage would drastically make inflation worse, especially for those who can least afford it.”

World Food Supply

The Agricultural Retailers Association along with nearly 70 other agriculture associations sent a letter to Congress asking for intervention and describing the role of the U.S. rail network that moves agricultural inputs and large quantities of agricultural products to both domestic facilities and to ports for export abroad. Some of the signers include the National Corn Growers Association, National Cotton Ginners Association, Beer Institute, Leather and Hide Council of America, and The Fertilizer Institute.

“A complete stoppage of the rail system would lead to shutdowns or slowdowns of rail-dependent facilities resulting in devastating consequences to our national and global food security,” the letter said. “Leaders around the world are already concerned about food shortages and famine due to drought and geopolitical challenges, such as the invasion of Ukraine, which accounts for ten percent of the global exports of wheat.”

The freight rail system is already challenged with delays in service, according to the letter.

“A complete stoppage of rail service, even for a single day, would escalate these challenges,” the agriculture letter said. “Most freight railroads currently lack extra capacity to make up for down time. Thus, a sizable portion of freight backlogged due to a stoppage may never be made up leading to less production from rail-dependent businesses to the detriment of producers and consumers.”

A group of 12 rail unions must all accept a labor agreement that includes a 24 percent pay raise over five years, an extra personal day off, a cap on health care costs, and being able to miss work for medical reasons without penalties. While most have agreed to the terms, some unions are holding out for paid sick days.

The Association of American Railroads says in its overview of employee time off that rail employees receive, on average, three weeks of paid vacation. More senior employees receive up to five weeks of vacation. All rail employees also receive a combination of holidays and personal leave days, up to 14 days for each employee. Personal days may be used as sick days, according to the policy.