15 Sep Following all-night negotiations, a tentative railway labor agreement reached
Following hours of negotiation into the early morning, a tentative agreement has been made between railroads and rail union representatives preventing a nationwide rail shutdown ahead of Friday’s 12:01 a.m., deadline.
“We are thankful the railroad and its labor unions were able to reach an agreement as we were already seeing shipments of crop protection tools jeopardized by the impending strike,” KARA President and CEO Ron Seeber said. “We appreciate all of our members who contacted our congressional delegation and explained the repercussions a shutdown would have led to for agriculture retailers and our nation’s producers.”
Throughout the week, KARA, with assistance from its national affiliate organizations, had been in contact with the Kansas congressional delegation to step in and avert a shutdown if an agreement couldn’t be reached. KARA had also been a co-signor on a 100-plus organization letter to congressional leadership urging action be taken in the event of an impasse in negotiation.