Rail Union Strike Would Create A ‘Crippling’ Economy, Industry Official Warns

By FOX Business
Posted on 11/22/22 | News Source: FOX Business

After a fourth U.S. railroad union rejected an agreement with their employers brokered by the Biden administration - and reignited fears of a nationwide rail worker strike - one spokesman for the rail companies claimed they’re "ready, willing and able" to reach new negotiations.

"We need to keep the network moving. We need to keep the economy moving," Association of American Railroads (AAR) President and CEO Ian Jeffries said on "Varney & Co." Tuesday. "And so that's why we stand ready, willing and able to reach new voluntary agreements. And absent that, we believe Congress might need to be ready to step in as it historically has."

Jeffries’ comments come just after a fourth rail union rejected a tentative agreement with the nation's major freight railroads, raising the prospects of a nationwide strike that could kneecap the economy in the middle of the holiday season.

Members of the Transportation Division of the International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail, and Transportation Workers (SMART-TD), representing more than 28,000 workers, issued a split decision in the vote count announced Monday. Yardmasters represented by SMART-TD voted to ratify their contract, but a smaller group of some 1,300 train and engine service members voted against their separate contract.