To Avoid a Rail Strike, Congress Treads a Well-Worn Path

Litigation attorney Charles Shewmake published an article in Law360 analyzing recent Congressional action to prevent a rail strike. President Joe Biden signed legislation to avoid a strike on Dec. 2, 2022, and Mr. Shewmake explains that the situation illustrates how labor relations under the federal Railway Labor Act (RLA) differ from laws governing other industries. The 1926 law establishes a preference for unionization but also makes strikes a rare occurrence. In this article, Mr. Shewmake, who has experience in railroad-related litigation, looks at how the RLA applied to the current situation as well as previous examples of Congressional action in this area.

READ: To Avoid a Rail Strike, Congress Treads a Well-Worn Path