Biden Intervenes In Railroad Contract Fight To Block Strike
Newsy
If the railroads and their 12 unions can't agree on a contract within the next 60 days, Congress would likely step in to prevent a strike.
President Joe Biden on Friday blocked a freight railroad strike that would disrupt shipments of all kinds of goods for at least 60 days by naming a board of arbitrators to intervene in the contract dispute.
The widely expected move will keep 115,000 rail workers on the job while the arbitrators develop a set of contract recommendations for both sides to consider. President Biden had to act before Monday to prevent a possible strike. A new round of negotiations is likely after those recommendations are issued.
The president wrote in an executive order naming the arbitrators that he'd "been notified by the National Mediation Board that in its judgment these disputes threaten substantially to interrupt interstate commerce to a degree that would deprive a section of the country of essential transportation service."
