File photo of freight trains near Pike Country, Kentucky, USA
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(Reuters) – Major US railway companies and unions representing 115,000 rail workers have reached a draft agreement on higher wages and better working conditions, President Joe Joe said Thursday.
The US administration organized on Wednesday a negotiation session between employers and unions to try to avoid a massive strike in the sector, which risked causing major interruptions in the supply of distributors and companies, with the risk of favoring inflation. the number one concern of the White House.
“This is a victory for tens of thousands of railroad workers who worked tirelessly during the pandemic to ensure that American families and communities are delivered and have what got us through these difficult years.” Joe Biden said in a statement.
Three unions representing around 60,000 workers threatened to stop work Saturday at 00:00 (04:00 GMT) in the absence of a deal with rail companies, including Union Pacific, BNSF (owned by Berkshire Hathaway, the group headed by Warren Buffett) and southern Norfolk.
The lack of a joint agreement has led to the lack of wage increases for three years and several unions are also calling for an improvement in working conditions.
A strike could cripple about 30% of freight in the United States.
(Jahnavi Nidumolu report in Bangalore, French version Marc Angrand)
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