- Unions and rail companies have struck a deal, averting crippling rail strikes, the White House said.
- President Biden praised railway representatives for reaching a "tentative agreement" on Thursday.
Rail unions have reached an agreement with railroad companies, averting the immediate possibility of widespread rail strikes that could have crippled the US economy, the White House announced.
President Biden praised railway workers and companies for reaching a "tentative agreement", hailing it as a win for the economy and for the American people, in a statement posted early Thursday.
"For the American people, the hard work done to reach this tentative agreement means that our economy can avert the significant damage any shutdown would have brought," Biden said.
The arrangement, which was struck after nearly 20 hours of negotiations brokered by the Biden Administration, will give rail workers better pay and improved working conditions, while rail companies will be able to retain and recruit, Biden said. The potential strike threatened to cost the economy an estimated $2 billion a day, according to the business-friendly Chamber of Commerce, an expense and slowdown that would come at a pivotal time for the Biden administration heading into the midterm elections.
"Moments ago, following 20 consecutive hours of negotiations at the Department of Labor, rail companies and union negotiators came to a tentative agreement that balances the needs of workers, businesses, and our nation's economy," a Department of Labor spokesperson said in an early morning statement to Insider. Both unions and carriers had been in discussions facilitated by the Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh all day Wednesday, as the Biden administration scrambled to head off a potential strike.
"Secretary Walsh and the Biden Administration applaud all parties for reaching this hard-fought, mutually beneficial deal," the DOL spokesperson said. "Our rail system is integral to our supply chain, and a disruption would have had catastrophic impacts on industries, travelers and families across the country."
The deal will now need to be voted on by unions and approved by its members. However, it puts to bed the immediate risk of strike action that was set to start as early as Friday, and would have significantly crippled much of the US rail network. Now, the unions enter into a cooling off period as members choose whether or not to ratify the contract, according to Politico.
One key provision in the new tentative agreement: Workers can take off unpaid sick days without fear of repercussions, according to the Associated Press. Previously, members of two of America's largest transport unions had drawn a line in the sand at sick leave, demanding members have access to time off without fear of being punished. Workers in one union had already voted down the prior tentative agreement and were prepared to strike.
The deal also means that members of Congress won't have to intervene, as some were gearing up to do. Republican Sens. Richard Burr of North Carolina and Roger Wicker of Mississippi introduced a resolution on Wednesday that would have enacted contract recommendations from a presidentially appointed panel prior to the strike, even if workers did not voluntarily agree to the terms.
"There are mechanisms that have been in the law for a long time to allow Congress to step in and prevent the economic disaster that would ensue," Wicker told Insider on Wednesday. "I think it's time to invoke that provisional law."
But Sen. Bernie Sanders, a progressive from Vermont, blocked that proposal on Wednesday night.
"The rail industry must agree to a contract that is fair and is just," Sanders said. "It is time for Congress to stand on the side of workers for a change and not just the heads of large multinational corporations."