© Reuters Is America’s ‘traffic disaster’ imminent? Biden: Government intervened in rail strike talks
Financial Associated Press News, Shanghai, November 25 (Edited by Huang Junzhi)The midterm elections have just ended, and US President Biden has added another heart issue: the “traffic disaster” of the train strike. He said Thursday that his administration was involved in negotiations to avert an impending U.S. train strike.
Biden said his team has been in contact with all parties, but has not yet been directly involved. However, he declined to give details on the progress of the talks, which are ongoing.
More than 300 organizations, including the National Retail Federation and the National Association of Manufacturers, last month urged Biden to get involved to avoid a strike. The strike could disrupt shipments of food and fuel, costing the already struggling US economy billions of dollars.
In particular, rail traffic disruptions could freeze nearly 30% of US cargo shipments (such as fuel, corn and drinking water), triggering inflation that could trigger a cascade of disruptions affecting energy, agriculture, manufacturing, healthcare and retail in the United States. problem. Plus, it can complicate train travel during the holiday season.
The Federation of American Railroads said earlier that if a deal can’t be reached before Dec. 9, nearly 7,000 freight trains in the United States could come to a halt, costing more than $2 billion a day.
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre previously said, “Given the damage this (train strike) has caused to jobs, families, farms, businesses and communities across the country, the shutdown is unacceptable.” .
Indeed, not only can the US economy not bear the consequences of the train strike, but also Biden’s political career cannot afford it, especially when inflation remains high. As the 80-year-old Biden is still considering continuing to run for re-election in 2024 once the railroads actually go on strike, the political popularity he has garnered by helping the Democratic Party avoid a disastrous midterm defeat this time it could be badly damaged.
The White House narrowly avoided a railroad general strike in September when Biden welcomed union leaders into the Oval Office to celebrate an agreement in principle.
It now appears that Biden’s celebration may have been premature. The deal still needs to be ratified by 12 union members, but four union groups have expressed disapproval. And now they still have two weeks to come to an agreement. If one union goes on strike, the others will follow.
