![]() ![]() ![]() industries would shut down."īiden said that according to his economic advisers, as many as 765,000 Americans could find themselves out of work in the first two weeks alone, and a strike could have wide-ranging disruptions on life across the country, impacting everything from feed for livestock to chemicals to ensure clean drinking water. "Let me be clear: a rail shutdown would devastate our economy,” Biden said in a statement. They could also force the negotiations to continue into the new year. Lawmakers have the power to impose contract terms on the workers, but it’s not clear what they might include if they do that. Labor leaders have asked Congress to step in. Eight other rail unions have ratified deals which include 24% raises and $5,000 in bonuses. Four rail unions are back at the table after rejecting their deals with the railroads, trying to work out new agreements before the Dec. "On the day that it was announced, labor leaders, business leaders, and elected officials all hailed it as a fair resolution of the dispute between the hard-working men and women of the rail freight unions and the companies in that industry," Biden wrote.īut talks have since stalled. The president said in a statement on Monday that a tentative agreement approved in September provided a pay raise for workers, health care benefits and a better leave policy. "It's not an easy call, but I think we have to do it," Biden said, adding: "The economy is at risk."įollowing the meeting, Majority Leader Schumer told reporters that all four Congressional leaders agreed to work to resolve the rail strike as soon as possible. President Joe Biden said Tuesday that he was "confident" that a rail strike will be avoided, one day after calling on Congress to pass legislation to intervene before next month’s deadline in the stalled contract talks.Īhead of his meeting with Congressional leaders, Biden said that resolving the dispute was essential, and that Congress "has to act to prevent" a strike. No small feat for a narrowly divided Congress - especially in its waning days - but lawmakers have defied these odds several times before in the last two years, and hope to do so one last time before January. Speaking to reporters afterwards, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., called the meeting "productive" and expressed optimism about getting a number of things done, including a bill to avert the rail strike and a measure to fund the government for a full year. "We're going to work together to fund – I hope work together – to fund the government, COVID and the war in Ukraine, all controversial and consequential issues," the president continued, adding: "We're going to find other areas of common ground, I hope, because the American people want us to work together." ![]() "I asked for top leaders in Congress to come in and talk about what we're going to do between now and Christmas," Biden told reporters before the meeting. On Tuesday, President Joe Biden hosted Congressional leaders at the White House to discuss legislative priorities through the end of the year. 6 runoff in Georgia will determine whether they have a 51-seat majority, or experience another two years of a 50-50 chamber.īefore the GOP can take over the House, lawmakers still have plenty of work ahead of them in the coming weeks - including addressing government funding, enacting Electoral Count Act reform and working to avert a looming rail strike that could devastate the economy. ![]() President Joe Biden's party will still control the Senate when the 118th Congress takes over in January, and a Dec. With the Thanksgiving recess in the rearview mirror, lawmakers are back Washington for a busy lame-duck session before a new Congress takes over in January.ĭemocrats will control both chambers of Congress for just a few more weeks before ceding the House of Representatives back to Republicans. ![]()
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