- US freight railroad firms and unions have until September 16 to come to a collective bargaining agreement.
- Two of the 12 unions representing various workers have not reached an agreement.
- The parties are still in negotiations.
The US railroad network is at risk of being shut down due to a labour disagreement, and the White House said President Joe Biden was trying to mediate the situation on Monday.
“The president and members of the cabinet have been in touch today with both unions and companies involved in order to try to avert a strike,” an administration official told AFP on condition of anonymity.
US freight railroad firms and unions have until September 16 to come to a collective bargaining agreement. Two of the 12 unions representing various workers have not reached an agreement, and their members could strike.
There would be severe economic consequences, the Association of American Railroads said.
Additionally, Democrats would take a political damage ahead of the challenging midterm elections in November, when voters are already concerned about inflation in the post-pandemic economy, where supply chain problems have been a persistent scourge.
The parties are still in negotiations, according to a statement from the Labor Department.
Marty Walsh, secretary of labour “engaged to push the parties to reach a resolution that averts any shutdown of our rail system. This followed on dozens of calls from the president’s cabinet and top administration officials,” the declaration read.
“The fact that we are already seeing some impacts of contingency planning by railways again demonstrates that a shutdown of our freight rail system is an unacceptable outcome for our economy and the American people, and all parties must work to avoid that.”
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