A railroad strike has halted for now, but some NCFL businesses may feel the affects

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GAINESVILLE, Fla. (WCJB) - A nationwide strike was shut down as rail companies and their workers finally came to an agreement on a tentative deal.

The deal includes a 24% pay raise and workers will now be able to take unpaid days off for doctor’s appointments without being penalized unlike before when they lost points for attendance.

“Firefighters have days they’re on call and days they’re not on call. Police officers, EMT’s days on call and days not on call, and the railroad seem to have really taken that to an extreme where they weren’t certain days that people were able to have a personal life,” said University of Florida professor Dr. Joyce Bono.

Dr. Asoo Vakharia also a UF professor and supply chain expert said although trucking is a bigger industry in the state, companies in North Central Florida like Columbia Grain & Ingredients in Lake City and others that have railroads going into their businesses may be affected the most.

“There is very little that the truck actually does literally the cars are unloaded onto these conveyers and if there are grain facilities like that. Yes, they will have an impact because they will have different ways of getting the grain.”

Utilities that use coal maybe affected if the deal is not finalized. Almost 17% of the power GRU generates is by coal.

“For example here local what is GRU using how much coal? How much is Florida Power and Light using because if the infrastructure in Florida is setup to generate power not using coal than that shouldn’t have a sufficient impact on that supply chain,” said Vakharia.

The next steps are for union members to vote on the new deal.

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