The U.S. Chamber of Commerce asked Congress to intervene to avoid a strike if no settlement can be reached between union leaders and the railroad Friday.
In a letter from Chamber President and CEO Suzanne P. Clark sent Monday, the Chamber asked Congress to take action if the nation’s six largest freight railroads and 12 unions can’t reach an agreement by the Sept. 16 deadline, warning that a strike would cripple the supply chain.
“A national rail strike would be an economic disaster – freezing the flow of goods, emptying shelves, shuttering workplaces, and raising prices for families and businesses alike, but that is exactly what is likely to happen in less than four days,” she wrote. “To avoid a strike and the catastrophic economic impacts that would follow, one of three things needs to happen: the remaining unions who have not agreed to a deal need to join the ones who have; an agreement to extend the current ‘cooling off’ period must be reached; or Congress intervenes, as it has in prior situations. If action is not taken, the nation’s rail service will come to a halt, the negative impacts of which cannot be understated.”
Clark urged Congress to take immediate action and implement the recommendations of President Joe Biden’s Presidential Emergency Board if the railroads and unions couldn’t come to a voluntary agreement.