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U.S. President Joe Biden issued a statement earlier this week, pressing Congress to immediately pass legislation to adopt the tentative agreements between railroad workers and operators to avert a potentially crippling national rail shutdown.
The National Carriers' Conference Committee (NCCC) and 12 rail unions began negotiations on new labor agreements in January 2020. When a Presidential Emergency Board (PEB) made an intervention in September this year, they reached tentative agreements. Union members are now holding ratification votes, but so far, four of the 12 unions have rejected to ratify the tentative agreements. There could be strikes and lockouts when the ongoing cooling-off periods end at 0:01 on Dec. 9.
Biden said in his statement: “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. Communities could lose access to chemicals necessary to ensure clean drinking water. Farms and ranches across the country could be unable to feed their livestock. Some in Congress want to modify the deal to either improve it for labor or for management. However well-intentioned, any changes would risk delay and a debilitating shutdown. The agreement was reached in good faith by both sides.”
