NCC Applauds Congress’ Intervention on Railroad Agreement

By Cotton Grower Staff|December 5, 2022

The National Cotton Council (NCC) is imploring Congress to adopt a tentative agreement between railroad management and labor to avoid an economy-crippling national rail shutdown.

The NCC was among numerous food and agriculture groups which signed onto a letter sent to Senate and House leadership on Nov. 30 urging legislation be passed immediately to adopt the tentative agreement. Later that day, the House of Representatives approved legislation that would force a tentative rail labor agreement and avert a national strike or lockout. The Senate passed the legislation on Dec. 1, and it was signed into law by President Biden on Dec. 2.

“A rail strike would be extremely detrimental to every cotton industry segment,” says NCC Chairman Ted Schneider, a Louisiana cotton producer, noting that impacts would be felt by:

Farmers who need equipment parts, fertilizer, and plant protection products
Cottonseed being shipped to feed cattle
Gins, warehousers, and merchandisers trying to meet obligations for raw cotton shipments
Domestic textile mills who need the fiber to employ thousands of U.S. workers.

Coupled with the supply chain disruptions within the trucking sector and at the ports, a rail strike or lockout is just an untenable situation, points out Schneider.

“The tentative agreement between management and labor is the only train on the tracks, and Congress should act to adopt it well ahead of the Dec. 9 deadline for a strike or lockout,” he states. “The U.S. cotton industry appreciates the Biden-Harris Administration’s role in reaching the agreement and is particularly thankful for Secretary Vilsack’s proactive role in representing U.S. agriculture’s needs and his efforts at trying to avert a strike that not only would hurt agriculture, but the broader U.S. economy.