(Washington) US President Joe Biden again called on Congress on Tuesday to urgently legislate to avert a potentially economically catastrophic and politically unwelcome rail freight strike.
“Congress must act to avoid” massive walkouts, said the 80-year-old Democrat, yet a clear supporter of social dialogue and unions.
“It’s not an easy decision to make, but I think we have to do it. The economy is at stake,” he added while receiving Congress leaders.
He had invited, on the Democratic side, the boss of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi and the leader of his party in the Senate, Chuck Schumer.
On the Republican side, Joe Biden received Mitch McConnell, leader of the Republicans in the Senate, where the Democrats will keep the majority, as well as Kevin McCarthy, leader of the Republican group in the House, who will on the contrary pass in January under the control of the conservatives.
Democrat Chuck Schumer and Republican Mitch McConnell have signaled their desire to resolve “as quickly as possible” this social conflict, which could shut down nearly 7,000 freight trains and cost more than $2 billion a day. economy, according to the American Railroad Association.
Nancy Pelosi assured her that the House of Representatives would vote on the subject on Wednesday. The text will then go to the Senate.
Rail freight could experience a massive strike after December 9, if all the 12 unions concerned fail to adopt a new branch agreement on wages and working conditions.
In the United States, approximately 28% of goods travel by rail.
The National Distribution Federation (NRF) has already warned of the potentially “devastating” effects of a strike.
Congress can block it, under a law dating back to 1926, if it votes to impose the new branch agreement.
It remains to be seen if all the Republicans, in theory holding liberal positions on the economy, will follow the movement to prevent the strike.
Florida Republican Senator Marco Rubio, for example, tweeted that he would not vote “for a deal that doesn’t have the support of workers. »
The conservative opposition knows that a conflict would be a severe political setback for Joe Biden, who has personally invested in this file.
And this at a time when the president, revived by better-than-expected legislative elections for his party, is considering running for re-election in 2024.
One of the unions concerned, BMWE-IBT, said in a press release that it was “deeply disappointed” by the decision of the American president to appeal to Congress. He has already predicted that the claim at the heart of the conflict with the employers, on the payment of sick leave, was “not going to disappear. »