Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
Biden: Tentative Railway Labor Deal Reached, Averting Strike
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 3 years ago on
September 15, 2022

Share

 

President Joe Biden announced Thursday that a tentative railway labor agreement has been reached, averting a nationwide strike that could have been devastating to the economy before the pivotal midterm elections.

Railroads and union representatives had been in negotiations for 20 hours at the Labor Department well past midnight to hammer out a deal, as there was a risk of a strike starting on Friday that could have shut down rail lines across the country.

The president brought business and union leaders to the Oval Office on Thursday morning, then hailed the deal in remarks in the White House Rose Garden.

“This agreement is validation of what I’ve always believed, unions and management can work together — can work together — for the benefit of everyone,” Biden declared.

Biden made a key phone call to Labor Secretary Marty Walsh at 9 p.m. Wednesday as the talks were ongoing after Italian dinner had been brought in, according to White House officials who insisted on anonymity to discuss the conversations. On speakerphone, the president told the negotiators to get a deal done and to consider the harm to families, farmers and businesses if a shutdown occurred, the officials said.

What resulted from the back and forth was a tentative agreement that will go to union members for a vote after a post-ratification cooling off period of several weeks. One union had to wake up its board to move forward on the agreement, which involved 50 calls from White House officials to organized labor officials.

In the Oval Office, a beaming Biden joked that he was surprised everyone was “still standing” after the late night and that they should be “home in bed.”

The strike would also have disrupted passenger traffic as well as freight rail lines, because Amtrak and many commuter railroads operate on tracks owned by the freight railroads. Amtrak had already canceled a number of its long-distance trains this week, and said the rest of its long-distance trains would stop Thursday ahead of the strike deadline.

Following the tentative agreement, Amtrak said it was “working to quickly restore canceled trains and reaching out to impacted customers to accommodate on first available departures.”

The five-year deal, retroactive to 2020, includes the 24% raises and $5,000 in bonuses that a Presidential Emergency Board recommended this summer. But railroads also agreed to ease their strict attendance policies to address some of the unions’ concerns about working conditions.

Railroad workers will now be able to take unpaid days off for doctor’s appointments without being penalized under railroad attendance rules. Previously, workers would lose points under the attendance systems that the BNSF and Union Pacific railways had adopted, and they could be disciplined if they lost all their points.

The unions that represent the conductors and engineers who drive the trains had pressed hard for changes in the attendance rules, and they said this deal sets a precedent that they will be able to negotiate over those kinds of rules in the future. But workers will still have to vote whether those changes are enough to approve the deal.

The threat of a shutdown had put Biden in a delicate spot politically. The Democratic president believes unions built the middle class, but he also knew a rail worker strike could damage the economy ahead of the midterms, when majorities in both chambers of Congress, key governorships and scores of important state offices will be up for grabs.

That left him in the awkward position on Wednesday. He flew to Detroit, a stalwart of the labor movement, to espouse the virtues of unionization, while members of his administration went all-out to keep talks going in Washington between the railroads and unionized workers.

As the administration was trying to forge peace, United Auto Workers Local 598 member Ryan Buchalski introduced Biden at the Detroit auto show as “the most union- and labor-friendly president in American history” and someone who was “kickin’ ass for the working class.” Buchalski harked back to the pivotal sit-down strikes by autoworkers in the 1930s.

In the speech that followed, Biden recognized that he wouldn’t be in the White House without the support of unions such as the UAW and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, saying autoworkers “brung me to the dance.”

But without a deal among the 12 unions in talks back in Washington, Biden also knew that a stoppage could halt shipments of food and fuel at a cost of $2 billion a day.

Far more was at stake than sick leave and salary bumps for 115,000 unionized railroad workers. The ramifications could have extended to control of Congress and to the shipping network that keeps factories rolling, stocks the shelves of stores and stitches the U.S. together as an economic power.

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, speaking aboard Air Force One as it jetted to Detroit, said a rail worker strike was “an unacceptable outcome for our economy and the American people.”

Biden faced the same kind of predicament faced by Theodore Roosevelt in 1902 with coal and Harry Truman in 1952 with steel — how do you balance the needs of labor and business in doing what’s best for the nation? Railways were so important during World War I that Woodrow Wilson temporarily nationalized the industry to keep goods flowing and prevent strikes.

Union activism has surged under Biden, as seen in a 56% increase in petitions for union representation with the National Labor Relations Board so far this fiscal year.

With the economy still recovering from the supply chain disruptions of the coronavirus pandemic, the president’s goal was to keep all parties so a deal could be reached. Biden also knew a stoppage could worsen the dynamics that have contributed to soaring inflation and created a political headache for the party in power.

Eddie Vale, a Democratic political consultant and former AFL-CIO communications aide, said the White House pursued the correct approach at a perilous moment.

“No one wants a railroad strike, not the companies, not the workers, not the White House,” he said. “No one wants it this close to the election.”

Sensing political opportunity, Senate Republicans moved Wednesday to pass a law to impose contract terms on the unions and railroad companies to avoid a shutdown. Democrats, who control both chambers in Congress, blocked it.

The economic impact of a potential strike was not lost on members of the Business Roundtable, a Washington-based group that represents CEOs. It issued its quarterly outlook for the economy Wednesday.

“We’ve been experiencing a lot of headwinds from supply chain problems since the pandemic started and those problems would be geometrically magnified,” Josh Bolten, the group’s CEO, told reporters. “There are manufacturing plants around the country that likely have to shut down. … There are critical products to keep our water clean.”

By 5:05 a.m. Thursday, it was clear that the hard work across the government, unions and railway companied had paid off as Biden announced the deal, calling it “an important win for our economy and the American people.”

RELATED TOPICS:

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

Taking a Mental Health Leave From Work Is an Option Most People Don’t Know About

DON'T MISS

Hey PG&E Customers, Get Ready for New ‘Transaction Fees’

DON'T MISS

Fresno County Ending ‘Squaw Valley’ Fight After Latest Court Ruling

DON'T MISS

Exclusive: Tesla to Delay US Launch of Affordable EV, a Lower-Cost Model Y, Sources Say

DON'T MISS

Clovis Reconsiders Recycling Vote. Will a Campaign Contribution Matter?

DON'T MISS

Gov. Newsom Offers $50K Reward in 2022 Kings County Homicide

DON'T MISS

Trump’s White House Launches COVID Website That Criticizes WHO, Fauci and Biden

DON'T MISS

Fresno ‘Powers Up’ the Nation’s Largest Combined Solar and Battery Storage Project

DON'T MISS

Trump Admin Asserts COVID-19 Originated in Chinese Lab, Targets Fauci

DON'T MISS

Vendors Back at Fresno’s Art Hop? Survey Wants to Know What You Think

UP NEXT

10,000 Pages of Records About Robert F. Kennedy’s 1968 Assassination Are Released

UP NEXT

Florida State Gunman Used Deputy Mom’s Former Service Weapon, Authorities Say

UP NEXT

Trump Officials’ Defiance Over Abrego Garcia’s Deportation Is ‘Shocking,’ Appeals Court Says

UP NEXT

Dems Step Up Trump Resistance as Base Hungers for More of a Fight

UP NEXT

Former Pentagon Spokesman Tied to Online DEI Purge Was Asked to Resign

UP NEXT

Average US Rate on a 30-Year Mortgage Climbs to 6.83%, Highest Level Since Late February

UP NEXT

Maryland Sen. Van Hollen Denied Entry to the El Salvador Prison Holding Abrego Garcia

UP NEXT

Trump: We Will Have a Trade Deal With China

UP NEXT

Trump Slams Fed’s Powell Over Rates, Saying Termination Can’t ‘Come Fast Enough’

UP NEXT

Dollar, US Stocks Find Some Stability as Trade Talks Help the Mood

Exclusive: Tesla to Delay US Launch of Affordable EV, a Lower-Cost Model Y, Sources Say

17 hours ago

Clovis Reconsiders Recycling Vote. Will a Campaign Contribution Matter?

18 hours ago

Gov. Newsom Offers $50K Reward in 2022 Kings County Homicide

18 hours ago

Trump’s White House Launches COVID Website That Criticizes WHO, Fauci and Biden

19 hours ago

Fresno ‘Powers Up’ the Nation’s Largest Combined Solar and Battery Storage Project

20 hours ago

Trump Admin Asserts COVID-19 Originated in Chinese Lab, Targets Fauci

20 hours ago

Vendors Back at Fresno’s Art Hop? Survey Wants to Know What You Think

20 hours ago

Russian Missile Attack Kills One, Wounds 112 in Ukraine’s Kharkiv, Officials Say

20 hours ago

Iran Says Nuclear Deal Is Possible if Washington Is Realistic

20 hours ago

49ers Look to Strengthen Depleted Defense in NFL Draft

21 hours ago

Taking a Mental Health Leave From Work Is an Option Most People Don’t Know About

NEW YORK — Her first panic attack came at a company-wide meeting, right before her scheduled presentation. Carolina Lasso had given many sim...

1 minute ago

1 minute ago

Taking a Mental Health Leave From Work Is an Option Most People Don’t Know About

17 hours ago

Hey PG&E Customers, Get Ready for New ‘Transaction Fees’

17 hours ago

Fresno County Ending ‘Squaw Valley’ Fight After Latest Court Ruling

Tesla Inc. vehicle facility is pictured in Costa Mesa, California, U.S., November 1, 2023. (REUTERS/Mike Blake/File Photo)
17 hours ago

Exclusive: Tesla to Delay US Launch of Affordable EV, a Lower-Cost Model Y, Sources Say

18 hours ago

Clovis Reconsiders Recycling Vote. Will a Campaign Contribution Matter?

California Gov. Gavin Newsom speaks during a press conference in Los Angeles, Wednesday, Sept. 25, 2024. Newsom vetoed a landmark bill aimed at establishing first-in-the-nation safety measures for large artificial intelligence models Sunday, Sept. 29. (AP Photo/Eric Thayer, File)
18 hours ago

Gov. Newsom Offers $50K Reward in 2022 Kings County Homicide

The logo of the World Health Organization is seen at the WHO headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, January 28, 2025. (REUTERS/Denis Balibouse/File Photo)
19 hours ago

Trump’s White House Launches COVID Website That Criticizes WHO, Fauci and Biden

20 hours ago

Fresno ‘Powers Up’ the Nation’s Largest Combined Solar and Battery Storage Project

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend