President Joe Biden's Administration has successfully brokered a deal between U.S. railway companies and railroad workers unions, narrowly avoiding an industry-wide strike and a major break down in the country's supply chains.
"Together we reached an agreement that will keep our critical rail system working and avoid disruptions of our economy" Biden said on September 15. "This agreement is validation of what I've always believed - unions and management can work together - for the benefit of everyone."
"Today is a win," the president added.
The deal was made after more than 20 straight hours of negotiations between union and company representatives, as well as call between Labor Secretary Matt Walsh, who brokered the agreement, and President Biden himself. Along with losing a major threat to the economy and businesses across the board, the potential of a strike was also a major threat to Democrats' performance in the upcoming midterm elections.
"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," Walsh said in a tweet.
The negotiations between the unions and rail companies had been underway for years before the Biden Administration stepped in. The final sticking point had to do with sick leave: prior to the deal, rail workers weren't allowed to take unpaid days-off for medical care without facing a penalty.
Things came to a head with the unions' threat of a general strike that would have cost the economy $2 billion per day. Negotiators may have averted the strike, which was set to begin within hours of the agreement announcement, but the deal isn't set in stone. Workers will still need to vote to approve the deal after a set period.
"We look forward to the unions ratifying these agreements and working with employees as we focus on restoring supply chain fluidity," Union Pacific
The deal includes a 24% raise for workers over five years beginning in 2020, $5,000 bonuses, and time-off for workers in need of routine preventative health care. While the rail companies agreed to begin allowing employees to take unpaid sick leave without penalties, union workers were only given a single day of paid-sick leave. Union officials also failed to bargain for the end of the Hi-Viz railroad scheduling system, a key problem for workers.
These changes may not be enough, but they do open the door for further negotiations surrounding attendance in the future, according to union officials.
"Most importantly, for the first time ever, the agreement provides our members with the ability to take time away from work to attend routine and preventative medical, as well as exemptions from attendance policies for hospitalizations and surgical procedures," reads a release from President Dennis Pierce of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen, and President Jeremy Ferguson of the Transportation Division of the International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers.
In the lead up to the potential strike, rail companies cancelled trains and shipments, and those same companies are now scrambling to undo their strike preparations.
