WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. economy would face a severe economic shock if senators don’t pass laws this week to avert a freight rail employee strike. That is the message the Biden administration is delivering personally to Democratic senators in a closed-door session Thursday.
The House acted soon after a request from President Joe Biden and on Wednesday passed laws that might bind rail corporations and staff to a proposed settlement that was reached in September but rejected by a few of the 12 unions involved. However the Senate often works at a slower pace, and the timing of ultimate votes is unclear.
Meanwhile, Labor Secretary Marty Walsh and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg are meeting with Democratic senators Thursday to underscore that rail corporations will begin shuttering operations well before a possible strike begins on Dec. 9.
“If there’s even the potential of a shutdown, about five days upfront of that, the railroads would need to begin winding down their acceptance of things like hazardous material shipments that you would be able to’t allow to get stranded,” Buttigieg said in a CNBC interview.
“So my goal today talking to the senators shall be to be certain they understand the implications of a shutdown and even getting near a shutdown,” he said. “It would not just bring down our rail system. It might really shut down our economy.”
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Railways say that halting rail service would cause a devastating $2 billion-per-day hit to the economy. A freight rail strike also would have a giant potential impact on passenger rail, with Amtrak and plenty of commuter railroads counting on tracks owned by the freight railroads.
The rail corporations and 12 unions have been engaged in high-stakes negotiations. The Biden administration helped broker deals between the railroads and union leaders in September, but 4 of the unions rejected the deals. Eight others approved five-year deals and are getting back pay for his or her staff for the 24% raises which are retroactive to 2020.
On Monday, with a Dec. 9 strike looming, Biden called on Congress to impose the tentative agreement reached in September. Congress has the authority to accomplish that and has enacted laws prior to now to delay or prohibit railway and airline strikes. But most lawmakers would like the parties work out their differences on their very own.
The intervention was particularly difficult for Democratic lawmakers who traditionally align themselves with the politically powerful labor unions that criticized Biden’s move to intervene within the contract dispute and block a strike.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., responded to that concern by holding a second vote Wednesday on a bill that might add seven days of paid sick leave per yr for rail staff covered under the agreement. The decision for paid sick leave was a significant sticking point within the talks together with other quality-of-life concerns. The railroads say the unions have agreed in negotiations over the many years to forgo paid sick time in favor of upper wages and robust short-term disability advantages.
The unions maintain that railroads can easily afford so as to add paid sick time once they are recording record profits. Several of the large railroads involved in these contract talks reported greater than $1 billion profit within the third quarter.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said he understands the urgency and the stakes for the economy of a drawn-out fight.
“Senators are working morning, noon and night to succeed in an agreement for us to act on this measure ASAP,” Schumer said. “The Senate cannot leave until we get the job done. And Democrats will keep working with Republicans to search out a path forward that everybody can support.”
Schumer said a priority for him could be holding a vote to supply seven days of paid sick leave. But he’ll need to work out an agreement as any senator can block speedy consideration of the rail measure.
The House passed the laws enacting September’s labor agreement with broad bipartisan support. But a second measure adding seven paid sick days for rail staff passed on a mostly party-line vote, signaling dim prospects for that effort within the evenly divided Senate.
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