Joe urges Congress: Be RR-strike brakers

As a proud pro-labor president, I am reluctant to override the ratification procedures and the views of those who voted against the agreement. But in this case . . . I believe Congress must use its powers to adopt this deal.

President Biden begged Congress on Monday night to step in and prevent a rail strike that threatens an economic nightmare before Christmas after key unions voted to reject a deal brokered by the White House earlier this year.

In a statement, Biden said there was “no path to resolve the dispute at the bargaining table” and warned “a rail shutdown would devastate our economy.”

“As a proud pro-labor president, I am reluctant to override the ratification procedures and the views of those who voted against the agreement,” the president said. “But in this case — where the economic impact of a shutdown would hurt millions of other working people and families — I believe Congress must use its powers to adopt this deal.”

The five-year agreement Biden wants to force upon 12 unions representing rail workers was tentatively agreed to in September following a 20-hour negotiating session.

While the 11th-hour bargain averted a work stoppage that would have begun Sept. 16, train conductors, brakemen and others represented by the Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers-Transportation Division, or SMART-TD have since voted down the deal, along with members of three more unions.

Eight other unions have signed off on the agreement, which would give workers 24% raises and $5,000 in bonuses retroactive to 2020, meaning the average employee would get an immediate payout of $11,000 if the deal is ratified.

More unpaid time off

Workers would also receive an additional day of paid leave per year as well as unpaid time off for doctor’s appointments and medical procedures without being penalized under attendance rules.

However, SMART—TD officials have balked at the lack of paid sick leave in the tentative agreement.

Under the federal Railway Labor Act of 1926, Congress can force train workers back on the job with a resolution imposing the contract terms, but they have little time to work with.

The deadline for the unions to ratify the contract is Dec. 9, but the effects of a strike or lockout could be felt days earlier.

As many as 765,000 Americans could be put out of work in the first two weeks of a strike, according to the White House, which also said that parts of the country could lose access to chemicals that clean drinking water and feed for livestock.

A nationwide rail stoppage could cost the economy more than $2 billion in lost output per day, according to a September analysis by the Association of American Railroads. Shortly after Biden’s statement, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) announced that her chamber would take up legislation to adopt the September agreement later this week.

“As we consider Congressional action, we must recognize that railroads have been selling out to Wall Street to boost their bottom lines, making obscene profits while demanding more and more from railroad workers,” Pelosi said. “We are reluctant to bypass the standard ratification process for the Tentative Agreement — but we must act to prevent a catastrophic nationwide rail strike.”

— President Biden