After almost 20 straight hours of talks, the Biden administration narrowly averted a devastating railroad strike. But this was more a case of flirting with catastrophe than scoring a game-changing win. And it took a buzzer-beater to get there.
The positive outcome was very much in doubt when the emergency talks began. “We didn’t expect an agreement to come out of this,” said Jeremy Ferguson, president of SMART’s Transportation Division, one of the unions. “It was pretty hostile going in, to get started, and we’ve had a rough road.”
Until that point, “we had a long way to go,” Ferguson said. “I think we ran them out of coffee,” Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen President Dennis Pierce added. It was more of a check-in than anything else, Ferguson said: “He wanted to hear from us what we needed to get to where we were, and how he could answer our questions or be there to help.”“Both the union and the company [sides] moved after 9 o’clock,” Walsh said. “They started having real conversations” about the issue of time off, potentially the most significant sticking point in the talks and something that rail unions have not typically been able to negotiate as part of their contracts.
“It’s like, Holy Christ: The magnitude of what would have happened. We’ll never fully understand, thank God.”The conversation turned next to health care, Walsh said — and “around 1:30 in the morning, the union moved significantly in one of their asks, and the company moved significantly on one of their asks.”
Canada Latest News, Canada Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
West Jordan neighborhood at wit's end over 'infestation' of skunks, raccoonsResidents of a West Jordan neighborhood says they're experiencing a nuisance infestation that has neighbors at their wit's end in their own homes. They say skunks are spraying dogs and raccoons are wandering the streets.
Read more »
Boulder City Council to talk West Pearl street closureAlthough it intends to reopen the western end of Pearl Street to car traffic, Boulder is exploring the possibility of repurposing streets and public spaces throughout the downtown area, at least partly due to pushback from the community.
Read more »
China keeps West guessing about economic pressure on RussiaBEIJING (AP) — Chinese leader Xi Jinping is keeping the West guessing about whether Beijing will cooperate with tougher sanctions on Russia as he meets President Vladimir Putin a year after declaring they had a “no limits” friendship ahead of the Kremlin’s invasion of Ukraine.
Read more »
Kershaw, Dodgers win another NL West title, blank D-backsClayton Kershaw pitched seven dominant innings and the Dodgers won the NL West for the ninth time in 10 seasons, blanking the Diamondbacks 4-0 Tuesday night.
Read more »