Following a plea from President Joe Biden to pass legislation to avert a railroad strike that the White House says could have “devastating consequences,” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said Tuesday that Congress will consider a bill Wednesday to resolve the dispute.
After a meeting between President Biden and the four top leaders in Congress, lawmakers in both parties said they agreed to work together to avert the crisis, which could have devastating impacts on the U.S. economy.
“Tomorrow morning we will have a bill on the floor,” Speaker Pelosi pledged. “I don’t like going against the ability of unions to strike, but weighing the equities, we must avoid a strike. Jobs will be lost. Even union jobs will be lost.”
“Water will not be safe, product will not be going to market, we could lose 750,000 jobs, some of them union jobs, that must be avoided,” she continued. “Tomorrow morning, in the House, we will bring up the legislation, send it over to the Senate.”
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., followed up Pelosi’s comments by saying that he and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., would work to resolve the situation as soon as possible, ideally “much sooner” than the Dec. 8 strike deadline.
Biden said at the meeting that he was “confident” lawmakers would be able to take action, noting that resolving the dispute was essential and Congress “has to act to prevent” a strike.
“It’s not an easy call, but I think we have to do it,” Biden said, adding: “The economy is at risk.”
McConnell told reporters that “we’re going to need to pass a bill” to avoid the rail strike, signaling that Republicans will be open to joining Democrats to resolve the situation. In the House, McCarthy said after the meeting that he believes it will pass.
The president said in a statement on Monday that a tentative agreement approved in September provided a pay raise for workers, health care benefits and a better leave policy.
“On the day that it was announced, labor leaders, business leaders, and elected officials all hailed it as a fair resolution of the dispute between the hard-working men and women of the rail freight unions and the companies in that industry,” Biden wrote.
But talks have since stalled. Four rail unions are back at the table after rejecting their deals with the railroads, trying to work out new agreements before the Dec. 9 deadline. Eight other rail unions have ratified deals which include 24% raises and $5,000 in bonuses.
Labor leaders have asked Congress to step in. Lawmakers have the power to impose contract terms on the workers, but it’s not clear what they might include if they do that. They could also force the negotiations to continue into the new year.
“Let me be clear: a rail shutdown would devastate our economy,” Biden said in a statement. “Without freight rail, many U.S. industries would shut down.”
Biden said that according to his economic advisers, as many as 765,000 Americans could find themselves out of work in the first two weeks alone, and a strike could have wide-ranging disruptions on life across the country, impacting everything from feed for livestock to chemicals to ensure clean drinking water.
“As a proud pro-labor President, I am reluctant to override the ratification procedures and the views of those who voted against the agreement,” Biden’s statement continued. “But in this case – where the economic impact of a shutdown would hurt millions of other working people and families – I believe Congress must use its powers to adopt this deal.”
