The number of crises the Biden administration has failed to resolve could fill the tanks of the entire fishing fleet on Deadliest Catch and then some. The serial incompetence from the Biden White House remains a pervasive characteristic that isn’t dissipating with time. We have an economy in recession, high inflation, and now a crashing stock market over the latest figures from the consumer price index, which were outright disastrous. Wall Street had its worst day in two years yesterday, wiping at least $1.5 trillion off the books.
Little do people know that this administration has tried to avert total disaster amid a rail strike set to effect Friday at midnight. Thirty percent of the nation’s freight would be shuttered, and the cost per day to the US economy will be around $2 billion. Most passenger and commuter rail services will also cease operating. Ten of the twelve major railway unions have agreed to the new agreements, though the two largest, which represent engineers and conductors, has not signed off. They still have lingering questions about sick leave and penalties for missing work. Thus far, these two are holding their ground, while the other ten unions said they would also strike in solidarity.
As Spencer wrote, the Biden White House has been trying to overcome these negotiation roadblocks since the spring. They also have no contingency plan, and airfreight is not an acceptable or efficient alternate mode of transportation for goods. The military is not also a viable option since they don’t have the training to operate the machinery.
It's stunning that the Biden administration has been incapable of hashing out an agreement with the unions for months. Then again, when you think about it, with Joe Biden and Pete Buttigieg at the head of the negotiating table—it’s not a shocking development. Joe Biden, Mr. labor union and working class, is about to own a massive rail strike that could devastate the economy even further while also cannibalizing the marginal gains Democrats have made post-inflation bill is a remarkable feat in the inept Olympics.
The irony is astounding, which was not lost on Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY), who hurled a brutal swipe at the president and his pro-labor union bona fides. Regardless, Biden’s team does face a political atom bomb should a strike occur, and so far, we’re all riding on a crazy train towards it. Some are calling for Congress to impose a settlement to avert a strike, which will undoubtedly upset a critical cornerstone of the Democratic Party’s base (via Politico) [emphasis mine]:
The White House was making it known that President Joe Biden is on the case, telling reporters that Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and his agency are leading an effort to blunt a strike’s effects on critical resources such as food, drinking water and electricity. At least two other Cabinet secretaries have tried to help the railroads and unions reach a deal, and Biden himself has spoken directly with both sides of the labor dispute.
A work stoppage would still inflict major trauma for the economy and the president’s party, threatening to leave consumers with soaring prices and bare store shelves less than two months before the midterm elections. That means maximum leverage for all sides of the dispute, including unions seeking to wrest more concessions from the railroads over working conditions.
It also puts Democrats into a bind over whether Congress should impose a settlement to avert a strike, over the objections of their allies in the labor movement — a predicament Republicans were eager to exploit.
“The president is bragging about how much influence he has with unions and how much influence they have with him,” Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell told reporters Tuesday.
Other Republicans said they would push the Senate to vote on imposing a settlement, a stance backed by business groups such as the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, even as many Democrats called for giving the two sides more time to reach a deal.
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Railroads are crucial for transporting all manner of commodities including food crops, fuel, cattle and building materials — and halting it would cost the economy $2 billion a day, according to the Association of American Railroads.
Almost 40 percent of the nation’s long-distance freight ton-miles move on rail, more than any other mode of transportation. That’s far more than freight than the trucking industry, still mired in labor shortages of its own, could possibly absorb.
At the heart of the dispute is a compromise proposal that an emergency board appointed by Biden issued last month. While most of the unions have tentatively agreed to those terms or appear close to doing so, train conductors and engineers say they will hold out for more protections against what they call harsh work rules.
If the parties can’t agree on their own, the only way to avoid a strike falls to Congress. But lawmakers typically dislike getting involved in contract disputes, and Democrats are particularly allergic to stepping into the fracas.
Besides Amtrak bracing for a strike by shutting down long-distance rail routes, goods transported by rail are starting to slow, which couldn’t come at a worse time for farmers and others in the agriculture sector who are bracing for harvest time.
Joe Biden’s inability to resolve a labor dispute since spring only speaks to his ever-present incapacity to serve as president.
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