President Joe Biden is calling on Congress to pass legislation “immediately” to avert a nationwide rail strike next month that could “devastate our economy” during the holidays.
Biden urged lawmakers on Monday to officially adopt a tentative agreement, approved by rail freight labor and management leaders in September, to avert the Dec. 9 strike deadline.
“I am calling on Congress to pass legislation immediately to adopt the Tentative Agreement between railroad workers and operators — without any modifications or delay — to avert a potentially crippling national rail shutdown,” Biden said in a statement on Monday.
“A rail shutdown would devastate our economy,” Biden added. “Without freight rail, many U.S. industries would shut down. My economic advisors report that as many as 765,000 Americans — many union workers themselves — could be put out of work in the first two weeks alone.”
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said the House will vote in the next few days on the tentative agreement, which has divided rail unions.
“This week, the House will consider legislation adopting the Tentative Agreement reached in September after months of hard-fought negotiations,” Pelosi said in a statement.
If the House passes legislation adopting the agreement, Senate action could occur later this week or next, according to Senate sources.
Biden celebrated the deal in September that gave union members an average 24% pay increase over five years, improved working conditions and capped healthcare premiums. But some unions voted down the deal because it did not include paid sick leave, which was a major obstacle in the negotiations.
“This agreement was approved by labor and management negotiators in September,” Biden said.
“On the day that it was announced, labor leaders, business leaders, and elected officials all hailed it as a fair resolution of the dispute between the hard-working men and women of the rail freight unions and the companies in that industry,” he said. “Since that time, the majority of the unions in the industry have voted to approve the deal.”
Members of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen recently approved the plan, as did the yardmasters in the Transportation Division of the International Associate of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation union. But train and engine service members at SMART-TD turned down the deal, sending it back for negotiations with the National Carriers Conference Committee, which represents railroad management.
In all, eight freight rail unions have approved the agreement, but all 12 must approve it for ratification. A nationwide strike by any of the freight rail unions would prevent others from crossing the picket line and cost the U.S. economy $2 billion a day.
If Congress takes action as early as this week, lawmakers could force both parties to abide by the contract, or extend the “cooling off” period.
“I am reluctant to override the ratification procedures and the views of those who voted against the agreement,” Biden said. “But in this case — where the economic impact of a shutdown would hurt millions of other working people and families — I believe Congress must use its powers to adopt this deal.”
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If that is his concern, then we need to block HIM !!!!!
You can bet, the UNION workers, will get the BIGGEST benefit here, while WE the people get shafted..
Hypocrite Joe accuses the Unions of “Never Letting a Crisis Go to Waste”, or perhaps he colluded with them all along to wait until the election was over when they had more leverage for socialist controlling type damage to THE PEOPLE. The idiot media, even Fox news just casually claims that delayed Christmas shelves, or even empty shelves will he the main problem, totally ignoring the fact that all that oil from Canada that should have been now Keystone completed pipelined to the refineries, along with the coal that is transported to the Blue states will not be arriving, by train, and a very cold winter of discontent it will be, just following the Biden script of punishing political enemies first, and worrying about collateral damage later. Diesel fuel needed by Truckers to transport, and Farmer Ranchers to plant and feed,, home furnaces to burn, will become even more scarce. Soon the Northern Cold states like New York, Chicago who unlike in the Red State South who have a plethora of fireplaces to share warmth with, will resemble cold Ukrainian apartments in Kiev. Joe and the Democrat environMENTALISTS are to average hard working Americans, exactly what Putin is to Ukrainian civilians,,,,Victims of frightened failing people of power using every unethical means necessary to cling to the unearned power and wealth they stole.
I am certain they colluded..
Could this be an Ego Problem for Biden and his Masters? Perhaps he doesn’t want to share the credit for destroying our economy with the Rail Industry?
This is his mess, he should take care of it. But Congress still run by Democrats might try something.