Senate votes to block rail strike, Biden pledges to sign bill

The Senate passed a bill to block a freight rail strike that had been looming over the nation the past few weeks, and President Biden vowed to sign it into law, according to the Associated Press.

The bill, passed 80-15 on Dec. 1, imposes the terms of a September tentative agreement that was reached between the rail companies and union leaders. That agreement had been rejected by four of the 12 freight rail unions, which created the possibility of a strike beginning Dec. 9 that could have cost the American economy $2 billion per day, according to the Association of American Railroads.

“Communities will maintain access to clean drinking water. Farmers and ranchers will continue to be able to bring food to market and feed their livestock. And hundreds of thousands of Americans in a number of industries will keep their jobs,” Biden said after the vote. “I will sign the bill into law as soon as Congress sends it to my desk.”

See also: Congress expected to step in to block rail strike

There was broad concern in the trucking industry that rail's freight volume, which represents over 25% of U.S. cargo by weight, could spill over into the truckload market. American Trucking Associations President and CEO Chris Spear, in a Sept. 9 letter to Congress, estimated the nation would need 460,000 additional long-haul trucks—an impossible ask, especially given current supply chain problems and an ongoing driver shortage of approximately 80,000 operators. The ATA sent another letter on Nov. 28 imploring lawmakers to intervene in the pending strike, stating the trucking industry "has neither the equipment nor the manpower to replace a single day of lost freight rail service."

"“Further delays only result in more uncertainty and inflationary pressure at a time when the economy is straining under the weight of both," Spear said.

There was also concern that diesel, a significant portion of which is transported by rail, could spike in price in the case of a strike. Diesel supplies are already low, with murmurs of a shortage echoing through the market in past weeks, although the likelihood of that in lieu of a rail strike seems to have been abated for now.

The Senate also voted on a separate bill that would have provided union members with seven paid sick days—the lack of which being the reason many union members rejected the September deal. That bill, however, fell eight votes short of passing on to the Oval Office.