(Washington) At stake, the supply of corn, fuel, and even drinking water… President Joe Biden is trying to avoid a rail freight strike that would derail the American economy in addition to being a political failure personal.
“The president is directly involved” in this file, said his spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre on Tuesday, refusing however to give any details on this involvement.
In a country where about 28% of goods are transported by rail, according to official statistics from 2019, a paralysis would be “unacceptable because of the impact it would have on jobs, households, farms, businesses and the communities of this country”, she said, calling on the social partners to negotiate “in good faith”.
In the absence of an agreement by December 9, or even December 5 according to the calendars of the various stakeholders, the world’s largest economy could experience a strike likely to shut down nearly 7,000 freight trains, and cost it more $2 billion a day, according to the American Railroad Association.
A large-scale social movement would affect a multitude of sectors, and even the supply of drinking water, since the chemicals used for the treatment of wastewater, among other things, are mainly transported by train.
A freight strike would also affect passenger transport, because some passenger trains run on tracks owned by freight companies.
This strike threat has its origins in a complex negotiation process, involving 12 unions and their employers, and in which Joe Biden has put all his political weight.
The risk of a major social conflict has actually existed for months and the White House had already narrowly avoided a strike in September.
Did Biden speak too soon?
The American president had even welcomed social partners in his famous Oval office on September 15 to welcome the conclusion of an agreement in principle, after hours of fierce discussions having stumbled in particular on the question of sick leave.
He had even spoken of a “victory for America” during a triumphant speech in the rose garden of the White House.
Did Joe Biden rejoice too quickly? This agreement in principle, for which he took part of the credit, still had to be ratified by the members of the unions in question, but of the 12 organizations concerned, 4 do not want it so far.
There are still two weeks to find an agreement with the employers despite everything.
If this was not the case, and even if only one union went on strike, the others would follow suit.
The situation is very delicate for Joe Biden. The American president – a great supporter of rail transport, he who traveled by train between Washington and his family who remained in Delaware (northeast) when he was a senator – never misses an opportunity to affirm, in general, his support for the unions .
But it cannot afford, at a time when inflation is already soaring in the United States, and before the holiday season, major supply problems.
As the 79-year-old Democrat ponders a 2024 presidential bid, a rail strike could jeopardize the political momentum he has regained since the November 8 legislative elections, which did not turn into the hoped-for triumph for the Republican opposition.
Another possibility – which the White House does not want to hear about for the moment, however – would be an intervention by Congress, to which a 1926 law gives prerogatives to prevent a railroad strike.