The fact that the strike by railroad workers will start at midnight Friday night is a major economic story not being covered. Joe Biden may be to blame.
Although eight of the 12 unions at the table decided not to strike, the remaining workforce is large enough that it could cause a major shutdown in the U.S.
Biden’s government is trying to end the strike, and may still be in a position to do so. Fox Business released a report that suggested this was a political issue.
In June, the President’s mediation panel decided to leave the negotiation table. Both sides were left fighting for their rights, the unions, and rail companies.
Marc Scribner, a senior transportation policy analyst at the Reason Foundation, is Marc Scribner. He thinks that the timing of this strike could have been coordinated. This could prove to be a problem for the administration.
This might occur right before the midterm elections, but it is completely self-inflicted. Scribner, FOX Business’s Scribner, said that two members of President Biden’s National Mediation Board [NMB] took the unusual step of terminating the board-guided mediator in June and starting the 90-day countdown to a possible rail strike. The move was described as “unprecedented” by Scribner. ”
Scribner asserts that Congress is not open to such actions, particularly when two major rail unions warn Congress against taking part.
Scribner claims that this was “clearly designed to force an instant right prior to the midterm elections,” and speculates that the Obama administration is aware that it can rely upon a Congress with unified Democratic control. “This puts a lot of pressure on Democrats facing tough races. ”
If that is true, Democrats in purple districts and swing states need to meet with Biden and tell them that he must fire all his staff and start over. Anyone who thinks this tactic is acceptable should get out of politics immediately.
Although the NMB didn’t leave for political reasons there are still three important consequences.
The Biden administration is under immense pressure to fix the problem. This limits their ability to concentrate on important issues that affect the United States.
It makes it difficult for Democrats in Congress to stay on the defensive and forces them to become more involved. It could result in another economic crisis, which could have a devastating impact on their chances of being reelected.
This puts consumers under severe pressure as a troubling supply chain effectively closes down, leading to higher prices and more shortages.
A shutting down could cost as much as $2 billion an hour. In order to transport goods, there would need to be at most 450,000 more trucks. The trucking industry is already facing a shortage of 80,000 drivers.
These numbers are alarming considering the extent to which inflation has already impacted American consumers.
Once again, the Biden administration has created a mess that they are completely incapable of cleaning up.
