Long Train Runnin', Con't

As I mentioned last week, the Biden administration's deal with rail unions to avert a rail strike has all but fallen apart, to the point where President Biden is calling on Congress to force them to accept the deal, and that was always going to be the endgame.

As a proud pro-labor President, I'm reluctant to override the ratification procedures and views of those who voted against the agreement.

But in this case – where the economic impact of a shutdown would hurt millions – I believe Congress must use its powers to adopt this deal.

— President Biden (@POTUS) November 29, 2022

 

The railroad companies are still terrible, and the deal is an improvement, but the unions are going to be broken here and they're choosing to go down swinging.

Yes, I know the $2 billion per day figure is probably going to be a lot more damage due to secondary and tertiary effects, and it's going to crater the holiday shopping season. The unions could technically strike as soon as Monday and frankly they have a ton of leverage here.

The leverage the rail unions have in extracting concessions from the rail industry is why unions were created in the first place. They have kids, medical bills, and debts to pay too. They have a reason for this fight.

Granted, the September agreement is more than the unions had, but yes, Pelosi and the House are expected to vote on the package very soon.

If a deal is not reached -- or forced by Congress -- then a strike could begin after the Dec. 9 deadline. Outgoing Speaker Nancy Pelosi said in a statement Monday night that the House will soon take up such legislation and won't modify the agreed-upon terms from September.

Like Biden, she said, "We are reluctant to bypass the standard ratification process for the Tentative Agreement -- but we must act to prevent a catastrophic nationwide rail strike, which would grind our economy to a halt."

The tentative contract included a 24% compounded wage increase and $5,000 total in lump-sum payments.

Pelosi praised certain elements of that deal but said, "Democrats are continuing to fight for more of railroad workers' priorities, including paid sick leave." Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., a member of the Democratic caucus, has said his colleagues should do more for workers.

The two largest unions had initially highlighted how the tentative agreement included "wage increases, bonuses, with no increases to insurance copays and deductibles" and improved time-off policies, which had become a sticking point.

While eight of the 12 rail unions then went on to formally ratify the agreement, four rejected it -- including the largest in the nation, with 50.8% of its workers voting against the deal.

Some of the workers' groups who rejected the agreement cited frustration with compensation and working conditions, particularly a lack of paid sick days.

They have the right to do that, but ultimately they can be broken by Congress and the President, and again, that was always going to be the outcome. They get to say they fought for it tooth and nail and they did.

On the other hand, Bernie Sanders, or any Senator, could delay a vote until after the strike deadline and that could get very messy very quickly.

We'll see if this train derails the entire economy.