Elected members of the House of Representatives took direct action Wednesday to unblock a social conflict and avert a potentially catastrophic rail transit strike for the US economy.
This bill, adopted by a majority of elected members of the lower house of Congress, imposes a branch agreement on the profession, even though it has not been approved by all social partners. Now it has to be approved by the Senate.
Faced with the prospect of a possible strike from December 9, US President Joe Biden had decided to entrust the dossier to Congress, authorized by a 1926 law to impose the adoption of an agreement in the event of an impasse in the negotiations.
The preliminary agreement, with retroactive application to 2020 and extension until 2025, had been signed by eight of the twelve unions in the sector, but the four refractory organizations said they were ready to invite their members to suspend work.
The text provides for a 24% salary increase in the five-year period 2020-2024 (retroactive), with a 14.1% salary increase effective immediately, as well as five annual bonuses of $1,000 each.
The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, motivated the decision to start the legislative process to freeze the new collective agreement for the rail transport of goods with the need to “protect the American economy which continues to recover and to avoid the devastating blockade of railways nationwide”.
A transit strike would cut US economic activity by two billion dollars a day, according to an estimate by the American Railroad Association.
In 2020, about 28 percent of cargo transported in the United States is by rail, according to the company Union Pacific.
– Political risk eliminated –
According to another study, by the American Chemical Council (ACC), a month of work stoppage in freight transport would have led to a contraction of the gross domestic product (GDP) and an acceleration of inflation.
Since 97% of the network used by the national railway company Amtrak is operated by freight operators, a strike would also have had a significant impact on passenger traffic.
The prospect of US railroad paralysis also posed a major political risk for President Joe Biden, as inflation remains high and the US economy is already showing signs of slowing.
But by forcing the adoption of the collective agreement and bypassing the social dialogue, the head of state has exposed himself to criticism from the trade unions and the left of the Democratic Party.
In an effort to rally opponents, Democrats introduced a supplementary bill on Wednesday that provides seven days of guaranteed sick leave a year.
Sick leave had crystallized the dissatisfaction of many employees in the industry, some companies did not allow it in the state.
This second text was adopted after the vote on the agreement itself.
Before the vote, three of the four unwilling unions had come out of their opposition in principle to political intervention, and had asked Congress to adopt the additional text on sick leave.
