Rail Strike Averted As Biden Signs Bill Enforcing Agreement

U.S. President Joe Biden signed a bill Friday to avert a freight rail strike that he said could have plunged the U.S. into a catastrophic recession.

At the White House, Biden signed a measure passed Thursday by the Senate and Wednesday by the House.

It binds rail companies and workers to a proposed settlement that was reached between the railroads and union leaders in September but rejected by some of the union workers.

The president, for decades a vocal labor ally, called it the “right thing to do” given the risks to an economy that is battling high inflation.

“The bill I’m about to sign ends a difficult rail dispute and helps our nation avoid what without a doubt would have been an economic catastrophe at a very bad time in the calendar,” said Biden, adding that his team helped negotiate a “good product, but we still have more work to do in my view.”

Members in four of the 12 unions involved had rejected the proposed contract as lacking sufficient paid sick leave. Biden acknowledged the shortcoming as he said he would continue to push for that benefit for every U.S. worker.

“I’ve supported paid sick leave for a long time,” he said. “I’m going to continue that fight until we succeed.”