The railway strike would impact passenger travel.

[Pacifist Patriot]

I have seen some posts at DU claiming it won't and is restricted to freight. Except passenger trains use freight tracks too. I have a reservation on Amtrak's AutoTrain tomorrow and received an email this morning warning me they would have to cancel the trip if the strike occurs.

It would be a huge inconvenience to me as it turns 3.5 hours of driving into 13. But I remain on the side of the railway workers. I hope there is a good and timely resolution, but it is more important railway workers be treated fairly. Their working conditions have been awful!!!

[Ocelot II]

1. I was talking to a guy last night who was trying to get from Minneapolis to Chicago

for a wedding next weekend and the flights were all booked, so he checked Amtrak and found out they were cancelling trains for the upcoming weekend because of the possibility of a strike. Amtrak will be affected as well as the freight lines because the two labor groups that haven't reached agreements with management are engineers and conductors. I don't think the strike will actually happen, though; or if it does it will be very short:

Just after midnight Thursday, rail workers can go on strike or railroad management can lock them out. Any strike or lockout won’t last long, though. Under the Railway Labor Act, Congress can step in to either impose a resolution based on a Presidential Emergency Board plan that was submitted in August or order trains to operate as usual while the two sides continue to negotiate.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/congress-wont-let-a-rail-dispute-cripple-the-us/2022/09/14/9491604a-3425-11ed-a0d6-415299bfebd5_story.html

[jimfields33]

2. If they'd treat employees correctly, there would be no strike.

Hopefully travelers will understand that the little sacrifices they make is worth it in the long run.

[Bettie]

3. And this is what it comes down to

there would be no strikes if employees were treated decently. Their requests are very reasonable.

[Pacifist Patriot]

5. Amtrak told us they would have a decision on the cancellation by 4:30 this afternoon.

My fear is they will cancel and then the strike won't happen....or lasts a couple of hours. Sigh. Never a dull moment.

[Blue Owl]

4. I have a feeling the money is out there to cover the costs needed to resolve the strike...

But it is currently being spent on CEO salaries so they can have their 2nd yachts and island vacation homes...

[manicdem]

6. Why do workers have to be on call?

I don't understand why the employees have to be available to work at all times. Is it due to labor shortage?

[Wingus Dingus]

7. It depends on where and how they're assigned.

It varies greatly among railroad classes and companies. Edit--they also belong to different unions depending on which type of job they have.