WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden said Thursday that a tentative agreement has been reached with railroad workers that averts a strike that could devastate the economy ahead of the crucial midterm elections.
Railroad officials and unions held 20-hour talks with the Labor Department on Wednesday to reach an agreement, as there was a risk of a strike that could shut down rail lines across the country on Friday.
Biden spoke with Labor Secretary Marty Walsh at 9 p.m., according to a White House official who spoke to the Associated Press to discuss the closures. The president told negotiators to consider the damage it would do to families, farmers and businesses if production stopped.
The result of these discussions is a preliminary agreement, which union members will vote on after a waiting period of several weeks after ratification.
“These railroad workers will get peace of mind about higher wages, better working conditions and healthcare costs: it’s all hard earned,” Biden said. The deal is also a win for railroad companies, which can retain and hire more workers for an industry that will remain a backbone of the American economy for decades to come.”
The strike will also disrupt passenger service and freight train lines, as Amtrak and many commuter rails operate on freight rail lines. Amtrak has canceled some long-distance trains this week and said the rest of its long-distance trains will stop before the strike deadline on Thursday.
Following a preliminary agreement, Amtrak said it was “working to quickly reinstate canceled trains and contacted affected customers to accommodate the first available departures.”
The five-year deal, retroactive to 2020, includes a 24% raise and $5,000 bonus proposed this summer by the President’s Emergency Management Council. But the railroads also agreed to loosen strict participation policies to address some union concerns about working conditions.
Railroad workers can now take unpaid leave to see a doctor with impunity under railroad visit regulations. Workers lost points in the participation systems previously adopted by the BNSF and Union Pacific railroads and could be penalized if they lost all of their points.
Unions representing conductors and train drivers have pushed for changes to the attendance rules and say the deal sets a precedent and may negotiate such rules in the future. But workers still have to vote on whether the changes are enough to approve the deal.
The threat of closure put Biden in a sensitive political position. The Democratic president believes the unions are shaping the middle class, but he also knows that a rail strike could hurt the economy ahead of the midterm elections, when majorities in both houses of Congress, key governors and twelve dozen key government positions are seized. .
Wednesday left him in an awkward position. Flying to Detroit with a workers’ eye to glorify the virtues of unionization, members of his administration did their best to support railroad union talks in Washington.
As the administration struggled to bring peace, Ryan Buchalski of United Auto Workers Local 598 introduced Biden at the Detroit auto show as “the most union and union-friendly president in American history” and a man who “kicked workers’ ass”. class.” Buchalski remembers the great sit-ins of auto workers in the 1930s.
In his speech afterwards, Biden acknowledged that he wouldn’t be in the White House without the support of unions like the UAW and the International Brotherhood of Electricians, and said auto workers “take me to the dance.”
But without a deal among the 12 unions involved in the Washington talks, Biden also knows that the shutdown could cut $2 billion a day in food and fuel supplies.
More than sick leave and pay raises are at stake for 115,000 unionized railroad workers. Branches can gain control of Congress and the transportation network that runs factories, restocks store shelves, and connects the United States as an economic powerhouse.
Speaking on Air Force One en route to Detroit, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said the rail strike was “an unacceptable outcome for our economy and the American people.”
Biden faces the same dilemma that Theodore Roosevelt faced with coal in 1902 and Harry Truman with steel in 1952: how can he balance labor and business needs to do the best for the country? Railroads were so important during World War I that Woodrow Wilson temporarily nationalized the industry to move goods and prevent strikes.
Union activism is evidenced by the 56% increase in petitions for union representation at the National Labor Relations Board this fiscal year.
As the economy recovers from supply chain disruptions due to the coronavirus pandemic, the president aims to get all parties to an agreement. Biden also knows that the shutdown could worsen the inflation-boosting momentum and create a political headache for the ruling party.
Eddie Weil, a Democratic political adviser and former AFL-CIO communications assistant, said the White House took the right approach at a critical moment.
“Neither the companies, not the workers, not the White House, no one wants a rail strike,” he said. “No one wants to be this close to the election.”
Sensing a political opportunity, Senate Republicans passed legislation Wednesday imposing contract terms for unions and railroad companies to avoid shutdowns. It was blocked by Democrats, who control both houses of Congress.
The economic impact of a potential strike went unnoticed by members of the Business Roundtable, a Washington-based group that represents business leaders. On Wednesday, it released its quarterly outlook for the economy.
“We have faced many challenges due to supply chain issues since the start of the pandemic, and these challenges will increase significantly,” Group CEO Josh Bolten told reporters. “There are production facilities across the country that probably need to close. … There are products critical to keeping our water clean.”
By 5:05 a.m. Thursday, it was clear that the hard work of the government, labor unions and railroad companies had paid off when Biden announced the deal, which he described as “an important victory for our economy and the American people.”
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EP writer Josh Funk contributed.
Source: Breitbart
