Democrats Prepare To Impose A Rail Union Contract That Many Workers Rejected

LOADING ERROR LOADING Congressional Democrats are moving toward a vote that would override the wishes of unionized rail workers by imposing a new contract with the nation’s major rail carriers. The White House said in a statement that tweaking the deal, however “well-intentioned,” would “risk delay and a debilitating shutdown.” The unions have spent months negotiating new contracts with the group representing the largest rail carriers, including BNSF, CSX, Norfolk Southern and Union Pacific. Biden said he was “reluctant” to override the contract ratification process in a tweet thread Monday, but argued that “Congress must use its powers to adopt this deal.” Ross Grooters, an Iowa-based rail worker, told HuffPost on Tuesday that many workers were disappointed, if not surprised, to see Democrats moving toward implementing the contract. “That is a real easy ask,” said Grooters, who’s a co-chair of Railroad Workers United, a group of activists from several rail unions. One of the unions that voted against the deal, BMWED, a division of the Teamsters, said in a statement Tuesday that the deal Biden wants to impose “does not address rail industry disease.” “It will worsen supply chain issues and further sicken, infuriate, and disenfranchise Railroad Workers as they continue shouldering the burdens of the railroads’ mismanagement,” the union said.