The railroad strike boomerang is whistling on back

One of America's largest railroad unions voted to reject a White House-brokered collective bargaining agreement yesterday, bringing back the possibility of a nationwide general strike. Which, if it happens, would cost the US economy an estimated $2+ billion… per day.

🚂 Background: After contract negotiations between workers and freight railways stalled over the summer, unions collectively representing 125,000 rail workers organized a work stoppage. This impasse led the Biden admin to step-in to help broker a deal, with the two sides ultimately reaching a tentative agreement the day before workers walked off the job in mid-September.

But the key word here is “tentative” – the agreement is far from a done-deal. For it to become official, each of the 12 unions involved needed to sign-on before December 8. And as of yesterday’s news, all have weighed-in.

• Eight unions, representing about 49% of the workers covered by the proposed contracts, voted in agreement.
• Four unions, representing around 51% of the workers, voted to reject the deal. While the agreement provides a 24% pay increase by 2024, the largest in four decades, they say it doesn’t go far enough to address unfair attendance policies and poor working conditions.

🏛️ Looking ahead… Both the unions and railways have agreed to a cooling-off period until early December. And if any of the unions decide to go on strike for better terms afterward, the other 11 have pledged to join in solidarity.

But, but, but: If a final agreement isn’t reached by December 8, Congress has the power to step-in and prevent workers from going on strike.

Stay tuned.