ARLINGTON, VA. — President Joe Biden called on Congress to immediately pass legislation to adopt a tentative agreement between railroad unions and management to avoid a strike that would lead to a national rail shutdown, crippling many industries, particularly agriculture.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi also said on Nov. 28 that the House will proceed with legislation this week to adopt the agreement reached by negotiators in September with no changes to the terms.

The crisis dates back several months, when railroads and rail workers failed to reach an agreement on new labor contracts. The Biden administration in July established an emergency board to investigate the dispute. As a result, representatives of the railroads and unions reached a tentative deal in September, subject both to a cooling off period and ratification by the unions.

In total, eight of 12 labor unions have ratified the labor agreement, which provides employees with a 24% wage increase over five years (ending in 2024) and preserves what the American Association of Railroads (AAR) called “best-in-class health care coverage.” 

The unions voting down the agreement took issue with the level of the pay increase given current inflation levels as well as a failure to address demands to make work schedules more flexible.

If Congress acts, it will end the ongoing talks between the railroads and the four rail unions that rejected their deals.

Biden had said he was reluctant to override the views of the people who voted against the agreement but noted that a rail shutdown would “hurt millions of other working people and families.”

A group of 400 US business organizations also sent a letter to Congress on Nov. 28 outlining the need for a labor agreement to be completed. 

Pressing for prompt action, the groups said many businesses would see the effects of a national rail strike well before Dec. 9. The groups noted the four unions that voted to reject an agreement brokered by the Biden administration between the rail workers and railroads have agreed to align the end of their “status quo.” Eight unions voted to approve the agreement.

“Many businesses and communities rely on regular, uninterrupted rail service,” the groups said. “The uncertainty of rail service during this year’s protracted contract negotiations has created enormous anxiety. In September, the mere possibility of a rail service stoppage created significant disruptions to the timely delivery of critical goods and products. The freight railroads must safely reduce operations and secure their customers’ goods days in advance of a potential strike, meaning businesses and communities saw interruptions in the delivery of fertilizers, chlorine, and other products essential to clean water, our food supply, and electricity generation.”

Describing the potential economic damage that could result from a strike the groups said would cost the US economy $2 billion a day, the letter noted that a strike would disrupt up to 7 million travelers on Amtrak each day, imperil sales “in the middle of the critical holiday shopping season” and interfere with the “transporting (of) 6,300 carloads of food and farm products that are carried by rail daily.”

Congressional intervention is provided for by federal law and is consistent with past practice, the groups said.

“Congress has intervened 18 times since 1926 in labor negotiations that threaten interstate commerce, and there is no reason why Congress should deviate from this record today,” the letter said. “While a voluntary agreement with the four holdout unions is the best outcome, the risks to America’s economy and communities simply make a national rail strike unacceptable. Therefore, absent a voluntary agreement, we call on you to take immediate steps to prevent a national rail strike and the certain economic destruction that would follow.”

Food industry groups that signed the letter include the American Bakers Association, American Farm Bureau Federation, American Frozen Foods Institute, Consumer Brands Association, Corn Refiners Association, FMI – The Food Industry Association, International Dairy Foods Association, National Association of Flour Distributors, National Grain and Feed Association, North American Meat Institute, North American Millers’ Association, and US Durum Growers Association.