United States President Joe Biden has requested Congress to act in an effort to prevent a looming railroad strike that could freeze the country's supply chains as 400 groups are urging immediate action to address the issue.
Several groups, including the US Chamber of Commerce, National Association of Manufacturers, National Retail Federation, American Petroleum Institute, National Restaurant Association, and others, warned of the impacts that a potential strike could be felt as early as December 5.
Call for Congress
The situation comes as four unions' workers rejected a tentative contract deal that was announced in September as the other eight approved of it. In a letter to congressional leaders, groups said that the risks to the United States economy and communities make a national rail strike "unacceptable."
Therefore, they said that absent a voluntary agreement, they were calling on Congress to take immediate steps to prevent the strike and what comes with it the certain economic destruction of the nation. The potential railroad strike could freeze roughly 30% of the country's cargo shipments by weight, stoke inflation, and cost the American economy as much as $2 billion per day, as per Yahoo News.
The letter sent to Congress added that a potential railroad strike could result in interruptions in the delivery of various goods, such as fertilizer, chlorine, and other products that are considered essential to clean water, food supply, and electricity generation.
The groups also warned that if the strike was to push through, it could halt railroad Amtrak and commuter rail services that would disrupt the efforts of up to 7 million travelers per day. The US Chamber implored lawmakers last week to step in one day after members of the nation's biggest railroad union rejected a tentative agreement.
According to the New York Times, Biden has also urged Congress to intervene in the matter by passing legislation to impose an agreement that his administration helped broker but failed to win the support of all unions.
Potential Railroad Strike
In a statement, the Democratic president said that on the day that the agreement was announced, many labor leaders, business leaders, and elected officials hailed it as a fair resolution to the arguments between workers and companies in the railroad industry.
Biden's decision to weigh in on the potential national railroad strike comes weeks after his administration said that it was up to the labor unions and rail companies to resolve their differences while avoiding crippling work stoppage.
White House spokeswoman, Karine Jean-Pierre, said that the best option that the administration believes is for the parties to resolve the matter themselves. The remarks come as Biden is a staunch union backer who previously fought back against congressional intervention in railway labor disputes.
The Democrat also said that he shares workers' concerns about their inability to take leave to take time to recover from an illness or care for a sick family member. He pointed out that the deal provides a 24% pay raise and allows for unscheduled leave for medical events, CBS News reported.
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