WASHINGTON—The White House said Thursday it had reached a tentative agreement to avoid a potential railway strike that threatened to shut down a crucial vein of the U.S. economy.
President Biden said the tentative deal “is an important win for our economy and the American people.” He credited the unions and rail companies “for negotiating in good faith and reaching a tentative agreement that will keep our critical rail system working and avoid disruption of our economy.”
The Biden administration had been holding talks with representatives from both sides to avoid transport disruptions that could have snarled supply chains, putting new pressure on prices when inflation has been hovering near four-decade highs.
Ahead of the Friday deadline, passenger-rail provider Amtrak had said it would suspend all long-distance train services starting Thursday to avoid passenger disruptions caused by a potential strike by freight workers. While the negotiations don’t involve Amtrak workers, the company’s long-distance trains operate on freight lines.
Amtrak said Thursday it was restoring long-distance train services. The company was contacting customers to accommodate them on the first available departures, a spokesman said.
Labor Secretary
Marty Walsh,
who had been meeting with the representatives, applauded the agreement on Twitter. “Moments ago, following more than 20 consecutive hours of negotiations at @USDOL, the rail companies and union negotiators came to a tentative agreement that balances the needs of workers, businesses, and our nation’s economy,” he wrote.
The White House didn’t specify details of the tentative deal.
The Association of American Railroads, or the AAR, which represents the nation’s freight railroads, said three unions representing around 60,000 workers had reached a tentative agreement that included new contracts providing rail employees with a 24% wage increase during the five-year period from 2020 through 2024, including an immediate payout on average of $11,000 upon ratification. The association didn’t mention whether changes to attendance policies were made as part of the deal.
The AAR said the terms were reached following the recommendations of the Presidential Emergency Board No. 250, which was established by the White House to investigate the dispute.
Earlier, one of the unions representing U.S. railroad workers said its members rejected a tentative agreement its leaders had reached. The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, or IAM, had said its 4,900 members had voted to reject an agreement reached with the biggest U.S. freight railroads as part of broader negotiations. A central dispute was over attendance policies and unscheduled days off if workers or their family members get sick, an IAM union official said.
Two other labor unions—the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen, and SMART Transportation Division—had also raised the issue and were seeking to include changes to attendance policies in the talks.
With the sides still trying to reach an agreement late Wednesday night, Mr. Biden called Mr. Walsh and the negotiators at 9 p.m. ET, according to a person familiar with the discussions.
The person said the tentative agreement, under a standard ratification process, will now go back to the unions for a vote. Under the deal, the parties agree to a postratification cooling-off period expected to last several weeks.
If the talks had broken down and led to a strike, Congress could have intervened to delay or stop any strike. But White House officials were reluctant to call on Congress to step in to extend the deadline for the negotiations or force a resolution to the dispute.
House Speaker
Nancy Pelosi
(D., Calif.) said, “Congress stood ready to take action,” noting it had the authority to “ensure the uninterrupted operation of essential transportation services and has in the past enacted legislation for such purposes.” She said the House “prepared and had reviewed legislation, so that we would be ready to act.”
“Thankfully this action may not be necessary. We congratulate the unions and railroads for coming to an agreement, because it is in the national interest that essential transportation services be maintained,” Mrs. Pelosi said.
Stopping America’s 7,000 long-distance freight trains could reduce economic output by more than $2 billion every day, the AAR said in a recent report. Some of that economic activity, however, could be delayed until after a strike ends, rather than lost forever.
U.S. economic output last year was $23 trillion, or an average of $63 billion a day.
America’s rail network is used by manufacturers to get parts and move goods, as well as by retailers to get products from ports. Many items end up on many forms of transportation as they make their way across the U.S. and around the world.
U.S. consumers and businesses have faced rising prices in recent months as high incomes boost demand while supply-chain constraints and a tight labor market raise costs for companies.
Consumer prices increased in August, in a sign that inflation isn’t disappearing. The Labor Department on Tuesday said its consumer-price index rose 8.3% in August from a year before after an 8.5% increase in July and a 9.1% rise in June. What is known as core CPI, which excludes energy and food prices, increased 6.3% in August from a year earlier, up from the 5.9% rate in both June and July, reflecting broadening price pressures.
The producer-price index, which measures what suppliers are charging, rose 8.7% in August from a year before, down from July’s 9.8% increase but still high, the Labor Department said Wednesday.
—Esther Fung and Paul Berger contributed to this article.
Write to Ken Thomas at ken.thomas@wsj.com
Copyright ©2022 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 87990cbe856818d5eddac44c7b1cdeb8
WASHINGTON—The White House said Thursday it had reached a tentative agreement to avoid a potential railway strike that threatened to shut down a crucial vein of the U.S. economy.
President Biden said the tentative deal “is an important win for our economy and the American people.” He credited the unions and rail companies “for negotiating in good faith and reaching a tentative agreement that will keep our critical rail system working and avoid disruption of our economy.”
The Biden administration had been holding talks with representatives from both sides to avoid transport disruptions that could have snarled supply chains, putting new pressure on prices when inflation has been hovering near four-decade highs.
Ahead of the Friday deadline, passenger-rail provider Amtrak had said it would suspend all long-distance train services starting Thursday to avoid passenger disruptions caused by a potential strike by freight workers. While the negotiations don’t involve Amtrak workers, the company’s long-distance trains operate on freight lines.
Amtrak said Thursday it was restoring long-distance train services. The company was contacting customers to accommodate them on the first available departures, a spokesman said.
Labor Secretary
Marty Walsh,
who had been meeting with the representatives, applauded the agreement on Twitter. “Moments ago, following more than 20 consecutive hours of negotiations at @USDOL, the rail companies and union negotiators came to a tentative agreement that balances the needs of workers, businesses, and our nation’s economy,” he wrote.
The White House didn’t specify details of the tentative deal.
The Association of American Railroads, or the AAR, which represents the nation’s freight railroads, said three unions representing around 60,000 workers had reached a tentative agreement that included new contracts providing rail employees with a 24% wage increase during the five-year period from 2020 through 2024, including an immediate payout on average of $11,000 upon ratification. The association didn’t mention whether changes to attendance policies were made as part of the deal.
The AAR said the terms were reached following the recommendations of the Presidential Emergency Board No. 250, which was established by the White House to investigate the dispute.
Earlier, one of the unions representing U.S. railroad workers said its members rejected a tentative agreement its leaders had reached. The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, or IAM, had said its 4,900 members had voted to reject an agreement reached with the biggest U.S. freight railroads as part of broader negotiations. A central dispute was over attendance policies and unscheduled days off if workers or their family members get sick, an IAM union official said.
Two other labor unions—the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen, and SMART Transportation Division—had also raised the issue and were seeking to include changes to attendance policies in the talks.
With the sides still trying to reach an agreement late Wednesday night, Mr. Biden called Mr. Walsh and the negotiators at 9 p.m. ET, according to a person familiar with the discussions.
The person said the tentative agreement, under a standard ratification process, will now go back to the unions for a vote. Under the deal, the parties agree to a postratification cooling-off period expected to last several weeks.
If the talks had broken down and led to a strike, Congress could have intervened to delay or stop any strike. But White House officials were reluctant to call on Congress to step in to extend the deadline for the negotiations or force a resolution to the dispute.
House Speaker
Nancy Pelosi
(D., Calif.) said, “Congress stood ready to take action,” noting it had the authority to “ensure the uninterrupted operation of essential transportation services and has in the past enacted legislation for such purposes.” She said the House “prepared and had reviewed legislation, so that we would be ready to act.”
“Thankfully this action may not be necessary. We congratulate the unions and railroads for coming to an agreement, because it is in the national interest that essential transportation services be maintained,” Mrs. Pelosi said.
Stopping America’s 7,000 long-distance freight trains could reduce economic output by more than $2 billion every day, the AAR said in a recent report. Some of that economic activity, however, could be delayed until after a strike ends, rather than lost forever.
U.S. economic output last year was $23 trillion, or an average of $63 billion a day.
America’s rail network is used by manufacturers to get parts and move goods, as well as by retailers to get products from ports. Many items end up on many forms of transportation as they make their way across the U.S. and around the world.
U.S. consumers and businesses have faced rising prices in recent months as high incomes boost demand while supply-chain constraints and a tight labor market raise costs for companies.
Consumer prices increased in August, in a sign that inflation isn’t disappearing. The Labor Department on Tuesday said its consumer-price index rose 8.3% in August from a year before after an 8.5% increase in July and a 9.1% rise in June. What is known as core CPI, which excludes energy and food prices, increased 6.3% in August from a year earlier, up from the 5.9% rate in both June and July, reflecting broadening price pressures.
The producer-price index, which measures what suppliers are charging, rose 8.7% in August from a year before, down from July’s 9.8% increase but still high, the Labor Department said Wednesday.
—Esther Fung and Paul Berger contributed to this article.
Write to Ken Thomas at ken.thomas@wsj.com
Copyright ©2022 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 87990cbe856818d5eddac44c7b1cdeb8