The Biden rail strike is looming. It might have been buried since several other foreign, and domestic crises engulf this incompetent administration with an executive with dementia at its helm, but it’s a significant threat to our economy as we get into the thick of the holiday shopping season. The damage has remained the same: 30 percent of all freight will cease, costing the US economy $2 billion daily until some resolution is struck between the rail companies and the unions. It’s a crisis brewing since the spring, and no one at the Biden White House can definitively point out who is the lead negotiator.
Two days ago, Karine Jean-Pierre said Biden is "directly involved" in negotiations to avert a massive rail strike.
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) November 25, 2022
Today, Biden said, "I have not directly engaged yet." pic.twitter.com/g8a7u9EnyD
We’re heading for rocky shoals, but Republican Congressman Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA) is guaranteeing that no strike shenanigans will derail the economy ahead of the Christmas season (via RealClearPolitics):
JENNIFER GRIFFIN, FOX NEWS: A strike would disrupt the supply chain, cost $2 billion a day, cost 700,000 jobs if it lasts a month. Materials needed by refineries won’t be transported. Gas prices would go up.
This is a big problem for the president. Does Congress need to step in?
REP. PATRICK FITZPATRICK: Well, that would be the last resort, Jennifer. So, we're set to leave Congress on December 15th. Now, the cooling off period for this negotiation is set to end a few days before Christmas.
The union members are -- have very reasonable asks, by the way. Their benefits have not been on par -- that is the Transit Freight Workers Union -- have not been on par with other unions that had a raise in several years.
And one third of the product, Jennifer, in the United States is transported by freight rail, including close to 70 percent of our agricultural -- you know, grains, feeds, fertilizer and the like.
So, congressional intervention is a last resort. I suspect that after we pass the CR near December 15th, if that strike has not been averted, we'll be called back before Christmas.
[…]
FITZPATRICK: I believe he's [Biden] involved. I mean, this is something that would be of significant concern, you know, economic concern and certainly, therefore, political concern for the administration.
So, I’m sure they’re involved. They are probably, you know, waiting until the right time to reengage. Like I said, it will be a few days before Christmas before this actually manifests.
But Congress will not let this strike happen. That’s for sure. It would be devastating to our economy. So, we'll get to a resolution one way or another.
GRIFFIN: And Republicans will support the president if he agrees with the railroad workers?
FITZPATRICK: Well, I certainly would, and every member of Congress has got to speak for themselves. But failure is not an option here. We cannot have our transportation system responsible for one third of our products being transported throughout our country struck down. That’s not an option.
Mr. Fitzpatrick hails from Bucks County, Pennsylvania—a bastion for moderate Republican voters, which explains the less than adversarial tone. He is right that a strike isn’t an option, but given how aloof Biden is daily—there’s too much credit being given to this White House, which has shown that it’s a hotbed of ineptitude. Nothing from the Biden crew sparks confidence that this strike will be averted; at least, that’s the case for now.
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