Biden Administration Says Tentative Deal Reached to Avoid National Rail Strike – Following an ongoing labor dispute, the Biden Administration announced that rail companies and unions had reached a “tentative” agreement to void a national rail strike. On Thursday morning, the White House said in a statement that “better pay, improved working conditions, and peace of mind around their health care costs” will be given to rail workers.
President Joe Biden said in a statement that the tentative deal “will keep our critical rail system working and avoid disruption of our economy.” Twelve unions representing 115,000 workers agreed to the deal. “The tentative agreement reached tonight is an important win for our economy and the American people,” Biden announced. “These rail workers will get better pay, improved working conditions, and peace of mind around their health care costs: all hard-earned.”
People Also Read: Microsoft Starts Multi-Month Design Experiment With the Xbox User Interface
“The agreement is also a victory for railway companies who will be able to retain and recruit more workers for an industry that will continue to be part of the backbone of the American economy for decades to come,” Biden added. The terms of the tentative agreement have not been shared.
A strike, according to the trade group The Association of American Railroads, would have cost the economy an estimated $2 billion a day. Amtrak canceled all of its long-distance passenger trains just hours before an agreement was reached. While Amtrak employees are not involved in the ongoing labor dispute, freight companies own and maintain over 21,000 miles of track outside of the northeast corridor — from Boston to Washington, D.C.
The “tentative” agreement was based on recommendations from Biden’s Presidential Emergency Board, which called for 24% raises and $5,000 bonuses in a five-year deal retroactive to 2020. The unions that represent train conductors and engineers have remained hopeful that the railroads will address additional issues, such as their strict attendance policy, which makes it difficult to take time off.
They claim that the railroad’s decision to reduce its workforce by one-third in the last six years has made the job even more difficult. They have demanded that the railroads provide unpaid leave time so that employees can attend to personal matters, such as doctor’s appointments, without being penalized.
People Also Read: iPhone 15 Expected to Use a 3nm A17 Chip
The strike would have added to the already strained supply chains and could have impacted already high inflation costs. Even a brief shutdown would have greatly undermined the shipping of fuel, chemicals, foods, cars, coal, and other imported goods and products.
