More Than 400 Industry Organizations Ask Congress To Stop Rail Strike

The leaders of Congress are being urged by more than four hundred different business organizations to be ready to avoid a freight train strike that could begin wreaking havoc on the economy as early as the following week.

In a statement sent on Monday, industry groups sponsored by the Chamber of Commerce wrote to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell that “No one wins when the railroads stop operating.” In accordance with the Railway Labor Act of 1926, the Congress has the authority to impose a contract on both parties or to extend a “cooling-off period” for discussion in order to keep the railroads operating and prevent interruptions to interstate commerce. The laws governing employees’ time off are at the center of the disagreement between the railroad companies and their workforce.

The 449 different business associations, which range from the Aluminum Association and the Beer Institute to the US Apple Association and the Window & Door Manufacturers Association, have all stated that this is a matter of “grave urgency” due to the fact that even a temporary stoppage of work would result in a significant amount of issues. They stated that a consensual agreement between the freight train unions and the freight railroads would be the greatest possible outcome, but they emphasized that Congress needed to prepare for the worst possible outcome. “Absent a voluntary agreement, we call on you to take immediate steps to prevent a national rail strike and the certain economic destruction that would follow,” the groups wrote, pointing out that Congress has intervened 18 times in labor negotiations since 1926 when interstate commerce was threatened. “Absent a voluntary agreement, we call on you to take immediate steps to prevent a national rail strike and the certain economic destruction that would follow,” the groups wrote.

It is possible that a rail strike will take place as early as December 9, which will result in a lack of goods, an increase in costs, and a stop in the production of goods in factories. According to the estimates provided by the business organizations, this might also result in a disruption of commuter rail services, which could affect up to seven million passengers per day, as well as the transportation of 6,300 carloads of food and farm products every day.
However, the trade groups warn in the letter that the effects of a nationwide well strike will be felt by many firms as early as December 5 in the form of service outages and other impacts. They mentioned that earlier this year, there was a prospective rail strike that caused “severe disruptions” for essential goods and products, such as fertilizer, chlorine, and other things, but the strike was averted with an 11th-hour preliminary arrangement.

According to the letter, “Congress must be prepared to intervene before the end of the current’status quo’ term on December 9 to ensure continuing rail service” in the event that an agreement cannot be reached. “The unpredictability of rail service in the midst of this year’s drawn-out contract negotiation has produced an immense amount of concern.”