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OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — President Joe Biden connected Monday asked Congress to intervene and artifact a railroad strike earlier adjacent month’s deadline successful the stalled declaration talks, and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said lawmakers would instrumentality up authorities this week to enforce the woody that unions agreed to successful September.
“Let maine beryllium clear: a obstruction shutdown would devastate our economy,” Biden said successful a statement. “Without freight rail, galore U.S. industries would unopen down.”
In a statement, Pelosi said: “We are reluctant to bypass the modular ratification process for the Tentative Agreement — but we indispensable enactment to forestall a catastrophic nationwide obstruction strike, which would grind our system to a halt.”
Pelosi said the House would not alteration the presumption of the September agreement, which would situation the Senate to o.k. the House measure without changes.
The September statement that Biden and Pelosi are calling for is simply a flimsy betterment implicit what the committee of arbitrators recommended successful the summer. The September statement added 3 unpaid days disconnected a twelvemonth for engineers and conductors to thin to aesculapian appointments arsenic agelong arsenic they scheduled them astatine slightest 30 days successful advance. The railroads besides promised successful September not to penalize workers who are hospitalized and to negociate further with the unions aft the declaration is approved astir improving the regular scheduling of days off.
Hundreds of concern groups had been urging Congress and the president to measurement into the deadlocked declaration speech and forestall a strike.
Both the unions and railroads person been lobbying Congress portion declaration talks continue. If Congress acts, it volition extremity talks betwixt the railroads and 4 obstruction unions that rejected their deals Biden helped broker earlier the archetypal onslaught deadline successful September. Eight different unions person approved their five-year deals with the railroads and are successful the process of getting backmost wage for their workers for the 24% raises that are retroactive to 2020.
If Congress does what Biden suggests and imposes presumption akin to what was agreed connected successful September, that volition extremity the union’s propulsion to adhd paid sick time. The 4 unions that person rejected their deals person been pressing for the railroads to adhd that payment to assistance code workers’ quality of beingness concerns, but the railroads had refused to see that.
Biden said that arsenic a “a arrogant pro-labor president” helium was reluctant to override the views of radical who voted against the agreement. “But successful this lawsuit — wherever the economical interaction of a shutdown would wounded millions of different moving radical and families — I judge Congress indispensable usage its powers to follow this deal.”
Biden’s remarks and Pelosi’s connection came aft a conjugation of much than 400 concern groups sent a missive to legislature leaders Monday urging them to measurement into the stalled talks due to the fact that of fears astir the devastating imaginable interaction of a onslaught that could unit galore businesses to unopen down if they can’t get the obstruction deliveries they need. Commuter railroads and Amtrak would besides beryllium affected successful a onslaught due to the fact that galore of them usage tracks owned by the freight railroads.
The concern groups led by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, National Association of Manufacturers and National Retail Federation said adjacent a short-term onslaught would person a tremendous interaction and the economical symptom would commencement to beryllium felt adjacent earlier the Dec. 9 onslaught deadline. They said the railroads would halt hauling hazardous chemicals, fertilizers and perishable goods up to a week beforehand to support those products from being stranded determination on the tracks.
“A imaginable obstruction onslaught lone adds to the headwinds facing the U.S. economy,” the businesses wrote. “A obstruction stoppage would instantly pb to proviso shortages and higher prices. The cessation of Amtrak and commuter obstruction services would disrupt up to 7 cardinal travelers a day. Many businesses would spot their income disrupted close successful the mediate of the captious vacation buying season.”
A akin radical of businesses sent different missive to Biden past period urging him to play a much progressive relation successful resolving the declaration dispute.
On Monday, the Association of American Railroads commercialized radical praised Biden’s action.
“No 1 benefits from a obstruction enactment stoppage — not our customers, not obstruction employees and not the American economy,” said AAR President and CEO Ian Jefferies. “Now is the due clip for Congress to walk authorities to instrumentality the agreements already ratified by 8 of the 12 unions.”
Business groups that person been pushing for Congress to settee this declaration quality praised Biden’s move.
“The Biden administration’s endorsement of legislature involution affirms what America’s food, beverage, household and idiosyncratic attraction manufacturers person been saying: Freight obstruction operations cannot unopen down and imperil the availability and affordability of consumers’ mundane essentials,” said Tom Madrecki, vice president of proviso concatenation for the Consumer Brands Association. “The consequences to consumers if a onslaught were to hap are excessively serious, particularly amid continued proviso concatenation challenges and disruptions.”
Clark Ballew, a spokesperson for the Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employes Division, which represents way attraction workers, said earlier Biden’s announcement that the national was “headed to D.C. this week to conscionable with lawmakers connected the Hill from some parties. We person instructed our members to interaction their national lawmakers successful the House and Senate for respective weeks now.”
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Neil Bradley said Biden was close successful advocating for the woody already reached. “Congress indispensable bash what it has done 18 times before: intervene against a nationalist obstruction strike,” Bradley said successful a statement, and helium called Congress enforcing the woody agreed to by railroads and national leaders the “only way to debar crippling strike.”
The railroads, which see Union Pacific, BNSF, Norfolk Southern, CSX and Kansas City Southern, wanted immoderate woody to intimately travel the recommendations a peculiar committee of arbitrators that Biden appointed made this summertime that called for the 24% raises and $5,000 successful bonuses but didn’t resoluteness workers’ concerns astir demanding schedules that marque it hard to instrumentality a time disconnected and different working conditions. That’s what Biden is calling connected Congress to impose.
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Associated Press writer Colleen Long successful Washington contributed to this report.
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