Sputnik News
Back in September, US President Joe Biden frantically worked to avert a freight rail strike, stepping into the fray to broker a tentative agreement between the rail industry and union representatives to “avoid disruptions of our economy.”
Failure to deter a railway strike would be devastating to the US economy, already struggling with rampant inflation and recession fears, a Republican lawmaker has warned.
Rail workers have been demanding pay increases, reviewed schedules, stronger safety standards, and the ability to take time off if they are sick or for a doctor’s appointment.
The overall cost of such a walkout, fraught with disrupted supply chains, could amount to $2 billion daily, Congressman Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Pa., told US media, adding that if the industrial action were to drag out for a month, it might result in the loss of 700,000 jobs.
Negotiations were ongoing between railroad unions and companies, so “congressional intervention is a last resort,” said the lawmaker after one of the largest railroad unions voted down a deal brokered earlier by POTUS. However, if the talks fall through, Fitzpatrick added, Congress “will not let this strike happen.”
“That’s for sure. It would be devastating to our economy. So, we’ll get to a resolution one way or another,” Fitzpatrick, co-chief of the Problem Solvers Caucus bipartisan lawmakers' group, stated.
Workers of the Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers’ Transportation Division (SMART-TD) rejected the deal, it was announced on November 21. SMART-TD did not provide the reason behind the members' disapproval.
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