When last we saw our Transportation Secretary, Pete Buttigieg, he wa…wait. When last did we see Pete Buttigieg?

It sure as HECK hasn’t been any time in the recent past, when, thanks to the expiration of the “cooling off period” for the railroad contract negotiations (a deal having been in the works since January 2020), we are staring at the possibility of a railroad strike shutting down commerce and business in, oh…*checks date*… two days’ time. And we haven’t heard from the guy. Pathetic.

The Biden White House, in the meantime, is going to the mattresses, because there truly seems to be little else they can do, but light candles and pray the three unions still holding out – and they are adamant in their demands – miraculously come on board. On the other side of the coin, if the unions do sign off on new deals, the inflationary pressures are going to be extraordinary. After today’s CPI numbers? That’ll be peachy.

Let’s take a quick look at what this last union tentatively agreed to just today:

…The National Conference of Firemen & Oilers (NFCO) has reached a tentative agreement with U.S. freight railroads on a new labor contract, the National Carriers’ Conference Committee (NCCC) announced Tuesday.

“The tentative agreement announced today includes a 24% wage increase during the five-year period from 2020 through 2024 — with a 14.1% wage increase effective immediately — and five annual $1,000 lump sum payments,” the NCCC said in a statement. “Portions of the wage increases and lump sum payments are retroactive and will be paid out promptly upon ratification of the agreements by the union’s membership.”

The NFCO represents about 2,400 members. The latest deal means nine out of the 12 labor unions that have been part of a 33-month-old series of collective bargaining meetings with Class I railroads have reached agreements. The five Class I railroads are BNSF, CSX, Kansas City Southern, Norfolk Southern and Union Pacific.

That’s an inflation rocket booster right there, strapped on to your transportation costs, your fuel costs, ad nauseum. All prior to the retail mark-up when, whatever widget it is, finally hits a shelf. But the money isn’t the only sticking point and hasn’t been, which is where the 3 holdouts are entrenched. It’s working hours requirements and I will admit to learning something here from a commenter on my other story I was completely unaware of. The industry has shed almost 30% of its workers in layoffs over the years, and the new concept of “precision railroading,” has attrition outpacing hiring due to its unrelenting pace, and on-call requirements for workers. Essentially, there are no days off for a schedule that changes with the hour. These are sticking points in the negotiations now, and have to be addressed.

…“In the railroad industry, folks were let go,” said Timothy Motter, SAP solutions manager for the travel and transportation industries. “Now that those folks have been let go, they don’t necessarily want to come back. Railroad work is very difficult.”

Loop Capital, an investment bank that follows the railway industry, estimates that the industry is short about 4,100 workers, or about 9.4% of the needed workforce.

“Retention and hiring are not easy in the logistics industry in general, especially if you’re telling someone that they can’t go home, and that their schedule is up in the air every day,” Motter said.

Port delays have made scheduling for intermodal shipping — whereby shipping containers are loaded from one form of transportation to another — even more of a nightmare.

“Delays in getting containers through the port system and onto a train are really wrecking schedules,” Motter said. “If I can’t get a container on my train, I can’t fill up the train, but I still have to move the train on a scheduled basis.”

But things won’t just shut down at 12:01 Friday afternoon. That’s not how this works. The disruptions are already starting to ripple through the system. Amtrak is suspending certain long-distance routes out of Chicago. They can’t have a train full of passengers trapped somewhere if the rail lines go down.

Amtrak canceled lines from Chicago to Los Angeles, the Pacific Northwest and San Francisco starting today so that passengers and trains would not be stranded in the middle of a trip.

Burlington Northern Santa Fe announced yesterday, as of today, it would stop accepting temperature-controlled cars. Think lettuces, perishables, etc.

…BNSF on Sept. 12 wrote in an online customer notification that it would stop the in-gate of temperature controlled intermodal units. It said: “As you are aware, BNSF and the other railroads continue to actively meet with labor unions to seek agreements before the cooling-off period ends this Friday, September 16, 2022. Although we have now reached tentative agreements with nine of our 12 unions, every union has to be under an agreement to avoid a strike or other job action that will impact the movement of your freight.

“With the deadline quickly approaching, BNSF must take action on a small subset of certain commodities before a service interruption to ensure our customers’ freight safety and security, including temperature-sensitive shipments.

Norfolk Southern issued an “embargo warning” that includes the automotive sector.

…In a Sept. 11 online notification, NS EVP and Chief Marketing Officer Ed Elkins wrote, in part, that “we must begin issuing embargoes for certain types of shipments beginning today, which includes rail security-sensitive material (RSSM) and certain time-sensitive shipments outlined in the embargo. Additionally, customers in certain markets, including bulk unit trains, intermodal, and automotive, will see a curtailment of service up to 72 hours before the end of the cooling-off period to prepare for a safe and orderly stoppage should there be a strike. An embargo with specific information for intermodal and automotive customers is scheduled to be issued on September 11. We will communicate with all affected customers quickly and transparently about their shipments.”

And on it goes. It’s already costing us.

What’s the White House doing? Scrambling like Fran Tarkenton. Telling everyone this is a bad thing…

…The White House has told all sides that “a shutdown is unacceptable and will hurt American workers, families and businesses, and they must take action to avert it,” the official said.

Widespread railroad disruptions could choke supplies of food and fuel, spawn transportation chaos and stoke inflation. read more

President Joe Biden, cabinet members and senior administration officials “engaged” with the unions and rail companies on Monday to try to avert a shutdown, with more senior-level engagements planned for Tuesday morning, the official said…

…while desperately casting about for a work-around.

…The White House is working with other transportation modes including truckers and air shippers “to see how they can step in and keep goods moving in case of a rail shutdown,” a White House official told Reuters, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Dudes. You can’t work around this. There aren’t enough planes, not enough pilots, not enough drivers and trucks on this earth to move a fraction of the rail freight, and the diesel demand alone would crash the fuel supply in this country. Speaking of which, Biden geniuses, have you checked that Strategic Petroleum Reserve you keep raiding lately? YOU. MIGHT. WANT. TO.

…The U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) fell 8.4 million barrels to 434.1 million barrels last week, the lowest since October 1984, according to government data on Monday.

The United States may begin refilling the SPR when crude prices fall below $80 per barrel, a Bloomberg reporter said on Twitter.

(Remember when Chuck Schumer bragged about stomping Trump’s plan to fill it at $25 bbl? Good times, good times.)

Rock, hard place and an administration peopled with incompetent ideologues, chosen for the diversity boxes they check, vice the skills and knowledge they bring to the cabinet position they are plopped into. They can’t hashtag their way out of this, and the best hope is a settlement. If not, then this feckless Congress stepping in and forcing them to work would be next, but, as Barron’s says, the cost is already baked in. The question is whether it’s just raises and better working schedules, or an arm, leg, three quarts of blood, and catastrophe. With these boobs in charge.

Gosh. Can’t wait to see if they shut down the government this month, too.

What chapter of Revelation is this?