Having watched UPS drivers score the contract of the century, airline pilots start to secure better contracts, and in the midst of watching the UAW consistently apply pressure to Detroit and the Biden administration, northeastern railroad unions are trying to follow suit. 

With public transit still working its way back from Covid shutdowns, rail workers on systems vital to New York City, Philadelphia and New Jersey are using their leverage and threatening “walkouts, strikes and other job actions that would disrupt the commutes for thousands and thousands of people in the most densely populated region of the country”, Politico reported this weekend.

New York’s Kathy Hochul and New Jersey’s Phil Murphy now must weigh not only the inconvenience of potential gridlock with the transit system, but also the political effect of such a threat heading into an election year, the report notes.