The approval by the machinists came by a narrow margin, and that may only partly ease concerns.

It’s time to admit it: self-driving trucks are hooey. We should instead turn to reviving America’s neglected rail network.

The Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employees, the third largest railroad union, voted earlier in October to also reject the agreement.

U.K. unions are ready to take on the government if it attempts to strip away workers' rights, the head of the Trades Union Congress — the umbrella movement for the U.K.'s major unions — has said.

The walkout by workers that began Oct. 6 is costing shippers of iron ore, coal, chrome, ferrochrome and manganese about 815 million rand a day.

The result signals continued discontent over compensation, working conditions and sick-leave policies among some of the more than 100,000 union-represented workers of U.S. freight railroads.

Shippers are worried about the railways’ ability to haul grain, as Canadian farmers harvest the nation’s third-biggest wheat crop on record and 42% more canola than a year ago.

“Not only are trains convenient and comfortable, they are also one of the most sustainable modes of transportation,” Amtrak chief executive officer Stephen Gardner said in a statement.

The underlying strategies that strengthened railroads’ bottom lines have caused friction with customers, regulators and particularly workers — giving rise to a contract dispute that threatened a nationwide shutdown of the railway system.

The recently enacted Ocean Shipping Reform Act of 2022 gave the U.S. Federal Maritime Commission stronger oversight of how ocean carriers and marine terminals treat shippers. Now, FMC is being called on to wield some of that power.