US President Joe Biden on Monday called on Congress to intervene urgently to prevent a strike by railroad workers that he warned would “devastate our economy.”
Biden asked Congress to deploy rarely used legislative powers to force adoption of a preliminary deal which freight rail companies and workers had struck in September before some of the trade unions backed off, returning to their threat to go on strike.
While noting his pro-union credentials, the Democratic party leader said there was no alternative to forcing through the contested deal, which covers wage increases and working conditions.
“Let me be clear: a rail shutdown would devastate our economy. Without freight rail, many US industries would shut down. My economic advisors report that as many as 765,000 Americans – many union workers themselves – could be put out of work in the first two weeks alone,” Biden said in a statement.
If an agreement is not reached by December 9, the world’s largest economy could see nearly 7,000 freight trains grind to a halt, at a cost of more than $2 billion a day, according to the American Association of Railroads.
Alluding to the crucial role played by trains in serving the continent-spanning country, Biden said a strike would mean that “communities could lose access to chemicals necessary to ensure clean drinking water. Farms and ranches across the country could be unable to feed their livestock.”
