Assignment task: These past two weeks saw intense negotiations between the railroad workers union and their respective owners over a new collective bargaining agreement. They were at an impasse and all stakeholders were crying for government intervention to avert a strike. This is a dangerous precedent when government gets between labor and management. The issue that caused the most tension was a lack of sick days in their contract - specifically sick days and not PTO (paid time off) days. Management's position was that there were already plenty of PTO days. But they were not specifically spelled out as Sick Days which were important to the workers who then could not be mandated to work or denied vacation (PTO) time. Does railroad management feel their service is critical to the nation's supply chain that workers can be mandated to work like Health care workers , prison guards or air traffic controllers? There were preparations underway a week before the strike deadline to withhold key chemical shipments so they would not be held on some railroad siding somewhere in limbo. So there was tremendous pressure on the President to intervene and settle this potential strike. One must be aware that railroads serve a key function in supply chain logistics because they are the ones who best handle bulk shipments of commodities such as chemicals, grain, heavy machinery etc.
Q1. When is it important enough for Government to get involved or not involved?
Q2. What was the final resolution of the call for government intervention in this case?
Q3. Should the President serve as the moderator at the table? Should his Secretary of Labor? Who?
Q4. Should Congress get involved instead of the Executive Branch?
Q5. Does politics play a role in any of this, if Government gets involved?
Q6. Does this set a precedent for future labor / management bargaining?