US rail workers and unions fume as Congress considers stopping strike

Congress will intervene to stop a nationwide strike by railway workers if rail companies and unions fail to reach an agreement, a Republican lawmaker has said.

"Congress will not let this strike happen, that's for sure," Rep. Brian Kevin Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania said Sunday on Fox News, while acknowledging that rail workers "have a very reasonable ask" for better benefits and wages.

"It would be devastating for our economy" Fitzpatrick added. "We'll get to a resolution one way or another."

Last week, members of the largest railroad union in the United States rejected a tentative contract deal, brokered by the White House in September, which rebuffed workers’ demand for at least 15 days of paid sick leave.

The deal, touted by the Biden administration as a victory for workers and rail companies, does not include a single paid sick day.

Unions and railroads have until December 9 to resolve differences. If they do not, workers could strike or railroads could lock out employees.

The US Chamber of Commerce implored Congress to step in and prevent a strike that would impact shipments of food and fuel and strand rail travelers while inflicting billions of dollars of economic damage.

Under the Railway Labor Act of 1926, Congress has the power to intervene in rail labor disputes—an authority it has used in the past.

In a letter to congressional leaders on Monday, more than 400 groups called on lawmakers to intervene, warning that the impacts of a potential strike could be enormous.

"The risks to our nation’s economy and communities simply make a national rail strike unacceptable," warned the powerful industry groups, which, in addition to the US Chamber, include the National Association of Manufacturers, National Retail Federation, American Petroleum Institute, National Restaurant Association, American Trucking Associations and American Farm Bureau Federation.

Rail workers and their unions are fuming at the prospect of congressional intersection, saying it would allow big companies to continue abusing their employees while making record profits.

Progressive lawmakers have sided with rail workers in blaming large companies for the looming strike by refusing to accommodate their employees’ basic demands.

"The corporate greed never ends," Senator Bernie Sanders wrote Sunday.

"Last year, the rail industry made a record-breaking $20 billion in profits after cutting their workforce by 30% over the last six years. Meanwhile, rail workers have ZERO guaranteed paid sick days. Congress must stand with rail workers," the Vermont Independent said.

A rail traffic stoppage could freeze almost 30 percent of US cargo shipments by weight, stoke inflation and cost the US economy as much as $2 billion per day.

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