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President Joe Biden said in a statement on Thursday that a tentative agreement has been reached to avert a railway workers strike.
The labor dispute had threatened to shut down much of the country’s rail system by midnight Friday if a deal had not been reached. Biden said the agreement will keep critical rail operations running and avert the significant economic damage that a shutdown would have brought.
“The tentative agreement reached tonight is an important win for our economy and the American people. It is a win for tens of thousands of rail workers who worked tirelessly through the pandemic to ensure that America’s families and communities got deliveries of what have kept us going during these difficult years,” Biden said in a statement.
“These rail workers will get better pay, improved working conditions, and peace of mind around their health care costs: all hard-earned. The agreement is also a victory for railway companies who will be able to retain and recruit more workers for an industry that will continue to be part of the backbone of the American economy for decades to come,” the president’s statement continued.
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The deal still needs to be ratified by union members, but it reportedly includes a new cooling off period to prevent a strike if the vote fails.
Labor Secretary Marty Walsh said on Twitter that the deal was reached “moments” before 5 a.m. on Thursday after more than 20 straight hours of negotiations.
“Moments ago, following more than 20 consecutive hours of negotiations at [the Department of Labor], the rail companies and union negotiators came to a tentative agreement that balances the needs of workers, businesses, and our nation’s economy,” Walsh said.
https://twitter.com/SecMartyWalsh/status/1570338865403117569?s=20&t=j-YD9l1nHC58CPYZWhYJ8g
“The Biden Administration applauds all parties for reaching this hard-fought, mutually beneficial deal. Our rail system is integral to our supply chain, and a disruption would have had catastrophic impacts on industries, travelers and families across the country,” he added.
In his statement, Biden thanked the labor unions and rail companies for negotiating in good faith. The president also singled out the work done by Walsh, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, and Director of the National Economic Council Brian Deese on the deal.
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A rail service disruption brought on by a strike would have “dramatically impact economic output” and could have cost upward of $2 billion per day, according to the Association of American Railroads.
Amtrak had preemptively announced that it was shutting down all long-distance train routes, starting on Thursday, in anticipation of the strikes.
