The New York Times has reported that on Tuesday, Democratic and Republican leaders in Congress have vowed to intervene to prevent a US rail strike. President Biden went as far as pushing Congress to impose the latest negotiated deal for the four unions rejecting the current offer; eight of the 12 unions representing 115,000 rail workers have approved this deal as of this writing.  

Biden warned that the US economy would be devasted by a rail strike with massive disruptions to essential supplies of water, fuel, and food among many other vital commodities. While there had been some uncertainty about the Democratic Party’s stance, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-California) said unequivocally, “I don’t like going against the ability of unions to strike, but… we must avoid a strike.”

The current deal calls for a 24% wage increase and increased leave days. The four unions holding out voted against the deal by razor-thin margins in the latest vote. Shapiro will continue to watch this unfolding story and update our readers accordingly.