The Biden administration has been working to avert a possible railroad work stoppage that could begin late Friday and cost the U.S. economy at least $2 billion daily in lost productivity, potentially sparking yet another supply chain crisis.
President Joe Biden has personally talked with two of the railroad unions with and railroad companies to prevent a strike, according to a White House official. Bloomberg first reported the president's discussions. The official added that Labor Secretary Marty Walsh, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack are also engaged in the talks.
About a dozen unions represent the workers of the major national railroads like BNSF, Union Pacific, Norfolk Southern and CSX, among others. Most of the unions, including IBEW and the Teamsters, have settled with the railroads, but two — SMART and the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen — have not. Together, they represent half of railroad union workers.
Last month the board recommended that the union employees be given a 24% aggregate pay increase, but it rejected the unions' arguments about the attendance policies. Most of the unions agreed with the recommendations and have reached settlements along those lines with the railroads, but SMART and BLET have not. These two unions say if such a deal were put to workers in their unions for a vote, it would fail.
In the past, most recently in 1982 and 1986, Congress has acted to end railroad strikes. The process would be quite simple. Both houses could pass — and the president would sign — a joint resolution imposing the Presidential Emergency Board's recommendations, which the companies happen to find agreeable. The U.S. Chamber of Congress has already urged Congress to stand by and be ready to intervene.
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