Congress has stepped in to avert a potentially catastrophic strike involving the nation’s railroad workers.
The Senate followed the House’s lead in forcing a labor deal, and it appears President Joe Biden is on board. Andrew Dymburt reports for ABC News:
The deal includes a 24-percent increase in wages, a $5,000 performance bonus and continued access to healthcare plans. President Biden says the deal also preserves the practice of having two-person crews on trains. An effort to add seven paid sick days for workers fell eight votes short, meaning there’s just one day of paid sick leave in this deal.
Biden says failure to move forward on a deal could have led to around 750,000 jobs being put on hold, with an economic recession likely soon after trains ground to a halt. US Senator Jerry Moran of Kansas says the labor dispute should have been handled by the companies and the unions, but the economic threat — especially with ongoing high inflation and continued supply chain issues — made it important for Congress to step in. Fellow Senator Roger Marshall and Second District Congressman Jake LaTurner have not commented.
Between 80 and 120 trains pass through Emporia every day.
