President Biden is trying to get rail companies and unions to reach an agreement in time to prevent a damaging freight rail strike that could cause rapid inflation.
Mr. Biden and his team have been involved in final-hour negotiations between rail unions and large rail companies, which are at odds over scheduling and sick time Railroad companies have been unwilling to allow employees to take time off for doctor's appointments.
In order to avoid stranding people if there is a strike, Amtrak will be canceling all long-distance passenger trains on Thursday.
On Wednesday, members of a small rail union, whose leaders had reached a tentative deal with freight companies, voted down the agreement. The labor secretary for Mr. Biden gathered union and company leaders in Washington to try to find a solution to the problem.
The looming strike has put Mr. Biden in a difficult position at a time when the Democrats are in danger of losing control of Congress. Mr. Biden is trying to win the support of labor unions while at the same time trying to reduce supply chain snarls that have caused inflation.
Mr. Biden is trying to tell both unions and companies that they have an obligation to the public to keep rail service moving. While he has pushed to elevate the power of organized labor, he is wary of hurting American consumers and the economy, which could experience shortages and price spikes from even a brief strike.
On Monday, Mr. Biden phoned leaders on both sides of the table to urge a deal, stressing the same message to both sides, according to people familiar with the discussions.
Martin J. Walsh, the labor secretary, and White House officials hosted union and company leaders in Washington on Wednesday in an attempt to broker a deal before Friday. There is a chance that workers will go on strike.
How much is inflation? Your dollar won't go as far tomorrow as it did today due to inflation. The change in prices for everyday goods and services is known as the annual change in prices.
Is there a cause for inflation? It could be due to increased consumer demand. There are developments that have little to do with economic conditions and can cause inflation to rise and fall.
I wonder if inflation is bad. It is dependent on the situation. Moderate price gains can lead to higher wages.
Inflation can affect the stock market. It's difficult for stocks to be affected by rapid inflation. Houses have held their value better than financial assets during inflation booms.
The talks have becomebogged down over the unions' complaints about the working conditions faced by employees who power the nation's second-largest mode of freight transport. The president may be able to take some form of executive action to improve conditions for rail workers.
White House officials wouldn't say what actions the president's economic team had discussed, and it's not clear what power Mr. Biden has to resolve issues that are largely under the purview of private companies
Mr. Biden could push congress to extend the cooling off period or force unions and employers to accept the recommendations of the emergency board.
Ronald Reagan fired air traffic controllers who did not return to work after he ordered them to do so. He likes to call himself the "most pro-union president in history."
The issue can be worked out between the rail companies and the unions, according to the White House.
Administration officials are making contingency plans in case of a strike. Some supplies can still get to their destinations if you work with trucking companies, ocean shippers and other alternatives.
John Drake is the vice president of transportation, infrastructure and supply chain policy at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
The tools the administration has at its disposal aren't going to be enough to alleviate the impacts of this.
According to Michael K. Friedberg, an attorney focused on the transportation industry at Holland & Knight, union leaders were aware that the political situation was creating for Mr. Biden and congressional Democrats. They don't care about Biden's politics. He said that they wanted their sick leave now.
Biden and the Democrats are in a bind.
Rail is second only to trucking when it comes to moving freight. The Association of American Railroads, which represents major American, Mexican and Canadian freight railroads, as well as Amtrak, estimates that a nationwide rail service interruption could cost the economy more than 2 billion dollars a day.
Are the sources aware of the information? Why do they tell us? They have been reliable in the past. Is it possible to corroborate the information. The Times uses anonymous sources even though the questions are satisfactory. The reporter is aware of the source's identity.
Learn more about our process.Railroads told their customers last week that they would cut back on some services. The railroads said they would begin securing hazardous and toxic materials on Monday in case of a strike. Norfolk Southern closed its gates to shipping containers coming off trucks and ships on Tuesday and said it would shut them down at midnight on Thursday.
South said in an email that the actions were necessary, but they didn't mean that a work strike was imminent.
A prompt resolution that provides historic wage increases to employees and allows the railroads to restore service as soon as possible is what we want.
Two of the major unions that have not agreed to a contract called those preparations "no more than corporate extortion" and said the rail carriers were harming the supply chain in an effort to get Congress to act.
The rail carriers refuse to reach an acceptable agreement despite the fact that the unions have given them a proposal that they would be willing to submit to their members for approval.
On Wednesday, the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers said that it had voted to reject the agreement with the carriers and authorize a strike, but that it would delay its action until September.
More than 30 railroads and 115,000 employees are involved in the complicated dispute.
Huge swaths of American industries rely on rail transport to ferry their goods across the continental US in a timely manner. Ahead of the holiday shopping season, the retail industry is moving toys, clothes and electronics from cargo ships to warehouses and distribution centers. Many American farmers are about to begin harvesting their crops, which they often put on trains to send toprocessors
Most of the chemicals, automobiles, metals, grain and oil that moves around the continental US are transported by American railways.
A rush among farmers and retailers to get trucks to move their goods would likely push up spot prices in the trucking industry and add to cost inflation for industries that rely on trucking.
Judah Levine, head of research at Freightos, said that a rail strike could cause congestion at East Coast ports as companies try to move their goods closer to consumers by ship and on the West Coast.
The dockworkers and terminal operators at West Coast ports have been locked in their own negotiations over a contract that expired in May. While both sides have committed to continue moving goods while they negotiate, the possibility of a work strike remains.
The rail industry is important to the economy and Congress and the administration have the power to intervene in labor disputes. The railway labor act allows the president to appoint an emergency board to solve labor disputes.
President Biden convened that board in mid-July, and it issued a report on August 16th, which forbids strikes, slowdowns and lockouts for 30 days.
The board recommended that the railways increase nominal wages by 22 percent over five years and maintain the status quo for health insurance benefits.
The proposal has been accepted by most of the unions. Several unions, including two major ones that represent roughly half of the workers, are holding out for improvements to their sick leave and attendance policies, which they have described as "draconian."
Niraj and Noam were involved in the report.
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