(Washington Insider Magazine) -President Joe Biden’s White House Administration has found itself stuck between a rock and a hard place with the recent breakdown in railroad union labor negotiations and a looming railroad strike.
Suppose the railroad engineers and conductors strike next week as promised while continuing to negotiate a new labor agreement with the railroads. In that case, the US economy is sure to implode.
If the US government legislatively intervened to halt an economic crash preemptively as well as a railroad strike, the action would severely undermine the authority and effectiveness of all labor unions.
Is a railroad strike looming? Here’s what we know
Over the past several months, the two parties have agreed to most of the labor agreement terms. The remaining sticky point – over which the union workers are ready to strike – is the railroad’s refusal to allow paid sick days for its employees. The most recent labor agreement provides unpaid sick days, which only four out of twelve railroad unions rejected.
However, protocol dictates that if one railroad union strikes, they all strike together. Should the strike commence next week as threatened, not only would the passenger railroad lines be halted but also the commercial transport of goods nationwide. With 30% of US products moved by rail, a halt in transportation would devastate the US economy.
To avoid further damage to an already struggling economy, the House of Representatives has pledged to take action. The house is drafting a bill to enforce the terms of the most recently rejected labor agreement. The new law will prevent the unions from striking if the bill is passed into law by the US Senate and President Biden.
The White House Weighs in on a Looming Railroad Strike
The White House views this drastic action as necessary for the benefit of the country as a whole. However, it would not satisfy the paid sick days demanded by tens of thousands of railroad engineers and conductors.
Others decry the government’s involvement in disputes between employers and union workers as an authoritarian overreach.
President Biden has campaigned throughout his political career as a supporter of the ordinary working class. Signing a bill into law overthrowing the union worker’s ability to negotiate decent labor terms for themselves sends a clear and troubling signal negating his previous stance of labor support.