At
12:01am tomorrow morning, our nation’s transportation system was set to come to
a screeching halt. It now sounds like we have a bit of a reprieve, but the
threat remains.
Since
2019, railroads and unions have been negotiating a new contract.
Two
months ago, President Biden appointed members of a Presidential Emergency
Board.
This
board recommended the largest pay increase in industry history at 24 percent,
in addition to an annual bonus and healthcare changes.
President
Biden promised to be the “most pro-union president” in history.
But
even his board’s recommendations weren’t enough.
A
few unions continued to hold out, and took us to the verge of a nationwide
strike.
A
railroad strike would plunge us back into the supply chain issues that have
just now started to improve.
These
trains carry the food we eat, the gas for our tanks and the energy that heats
our homes.
Already,
I’m hearing from grain elevators that they’re having trouble transporting feed.
Hazardous
cargo – like the chlorine cities need to purify drinking water – stopped moving
earlier this week.
Amtrak
has canceled long distance routes.
But
this is just the tip of the iceberg unless they agree to a long-term deal.
The
last thing we need is for grain shipments to grind to a halt right as farmers
are trying to harvest their crops.
Iowa
corn and soybeans can’t feed the world if they are stuck on the farm.
That’s
why I co-sponsored Senator Burr’s Joint Resolution to prevent this.
The
resolution would mandate that both sides adopt the recommendations of President
Biden’s emergency board, and the trains would keep running.
We’re
just learning about a tentative deal that would let unions back away from the
cliff.
If
they don’t, then Congress must step in and pass the Joint Resolution to keep
our economy going. The alternative is unacceptable.
