Wednesday 14 September 2022 11:41 PM White House calls for sides to stay at the bargaining table to avert freight ... trends now

The White House on Wednesday called on all sides in a labor dispute to stay at the negotiating table – amid concerns that a freight rail strike could further inflame supply chain issues and damage the economic recovery.

'All parties need to stay at the table, bargain in good faith to resolve outstanding issues, and come to an agreement,' White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters.

'A shutdown of our freight rail system is an unacceptable outcome for our economy and the American people, and all parties must work to avoid just that,' she said.

She spoke while President Joe Biden made his way to Detroit – where he was cheered by union workers and credited the United Auto Workers with helping save the auto industry after the 2008 financial collapse. 

'Kicking ass for the working class!' local auto union worker Ryan Buchalski, who introduced Biden, proclaimed at the event. 

Jean-Pierre made the comments on a day freight railroad companies and two unions representing mainly train conductors were called to a meeting at the Labor Department in Washington, in talks hosted by Labor Secretary Mary Walsh.

That followed an attempt on Monday by President Joe Biden to mediate in the dispute threatening to paralyze the US train network and hurt the wider economy.

Biden 'had a conversation with both sides of this issue. And our continued message stays the same, which is that they need to continue to -- to negotiate at the table in good faith,' Jean-Pierre said.

'And we’re going to continue to work to make sure that we don’t put another burden -- another burden on the American people and the American families,' she said.

She also responded to a resolution by North Carolina Republican Sen. Richard Burr calling for unions to accept 'comprehensive recommendations made by President Biden’s appointees to the Presidential Emergency Board (PEB), which include significant wage rate increases for workers retroactive to 2020.'

Burr in a statement called on the administration to reject the unions' 'bullying tactics.' 

The Association of American Railroads has warned that a strike would bring 7,000 trains to a halt and could cost $2 billion a day. 

'So, the negotiating process of the Presidential Emergency Board, which the President formed back in July ... puts the onus of resolving differences on the parties themselves,' she said. 'And so, this is an issue that can and should be worked out between the rail companies and the unions, not by Congress.'

'They have been able to come together and negotiate in the past. And that's what we're expecting this time around as well,' she added.

Absent an agreement, the unions and management could decide to continue the talks, keeping railroad workers on the job -- or Congress could step in to block the strike.

Any strike would be bad news for Biden, who regularly expresses strong support for workers but is also struggling to avoid further economic damage ahead of key midterm congressional elections in early November.

Voters already are worried about soaring prices in the post-pandemic economy, where supply chain issues have been a constant scourge and annual inflation has surged to a 40-year high.

Amtrak, the nation's cross-country railway system, is canceling all of its long distance trains ahead of a planned freight workers' strike that threatens to destroy the U.S. economy.

The company is not involved in the ongoing labor dispute, but freight companies own almost all of its 21,000 route miles outside the Northeast Corridor, where it owns its own tracks.

Its announcement on Wednesday effectively cancels all planned trips, including those from Washington DC to Sanford, Florida and the Silver Star from New York City to Miami. The only area that will not be affected by the train cancelations are those in the northeast corridor, between Boston and Washington DC.

More than 55,000 people ride the Amtrak outside of the Northeast Corridor each day, according to the Rail Passengers Association. 

The company had previously said it was canceling several of its routes as two labor unions representing 60,000 engineers and conductors threatened to walkout of their jobs on Friday if their demands for safer working conditions are not met.

But after one of the 10 other labor groups that had already reached a tentative deal with the rail companies voted Wednesday to reject the offer, Amtrak officials announced it was now canceling all of its long-distance trains — issuing a serious blow to commuters and travelers.

Amtrak officials had already announced it would be canceling trips on several of its routes in preparation for the unprecedented strike.

As of Tuesday, the passenger rail agency suspended service on three cross-country routes out of Chicago, going to San Francisco, the Pacific Northwest, and Los Angeles, Amtrak said in a statement Monday evening.

Service would also be disrupted for a route along a portion of one of those routes, the company said - between Los Angeles and San Antonio.

Calling the changes 'initial adjustments' made 'in preparation for a possible freight rail service interruption' later in the week, the move from the passenger rail comes as many of America's railroads have already stopped accepting shipments of hazardous and other security-sensitive materials due to the looming threat of a strike. 

While the company is not among those in contract negotiations, nearly all of the passenger service's routes outside the Northeast run on tracks owned by freight railroads — meaning that a walkout could disrupt passenger service.

'These adjustments are necessary to ensure trains can reach their terminals prior to freight railroad service interruption if a resolution in negotiations is not reached,' Amtrak officials said in their statement.

It added that a walkout would  'significantly impact' the more than 21,000 route miles it operates outside the Northeast.

The affects, however, would likely be more minimal in the northeast, the company said, with a 'small number' of its Northeast Regional departures would see service interruptions if a strike were to transpire.

The passenger rail's preemptive maneuver echoes those of several America's most notable freight railroads in recent weeks, such as Union Pacific, which has already stopped accepting shipments of hazardous and other security-sensitive materials in anticipation of the looming threat.

Pacific, one of several major national railroads whose operations would be halted by the potential pause, said the move is meant to 'protect employees, customers, and the communities we serve.'

A statement from the railroad's trade group said they were taking steps to 'ensure that no such cargo is left on an unattended or unsecured train' during the

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