Biden says ‘yes’ to 24% pay rise

In the United States, the threat of a national railroad freight strike on September 16 was lifted after the Biden government intervened and urged the acceptance of a 24% pay rise, $5,000 bonus and three extra days of leave (writes Howard Johnston).

This is in remarkable contrast to the UK, where the rail network (primarily passenger) has been disrupted since June by strikes over lower pay and conditions.

While there is no promise that 115,000 rail union members in the US will accept the offer (they have a 60-day cooling-off period to vote on it), it seems likely that it will be accepted.

Almost a third of the nation’s freight goes by rail, and is worth around $2 billion (£1.85bn) a day.