Mr Biden signed an executive order on Friday ahead of a deadline to intervene in US railroad labor negotiations covering 115,000 workers or open the door to a potential strike or lockout that could threaten an already fragile economy and strangle workers. food and fuel supplies.
Mr. Biden has appointed Ira F. Jaffe https://www.law.gwu.edu/ira-f-jaffe to chair the emergency presidential council. Mr. Jaffe, who has been involved in labor and employment arbitration cases for more than four decades and who has chaired or served on five other emergency boards, is an American member of the rapid labor response under the US-Mexico-Canada trade deal.
He also named Boston College professor David Twomey, who has served on previous boards that helped resolve major disputes in the railroad and airline industries, and Barbara C. Deinhardt, an independent arbitrator who chaired the Boston College Labor Relations Board. New York State and the New York State Workers’ Compensation Board.
Had Biden not created the council by Monday, the railroads and unions could have opted for shutdowns or strikes, respectively.
The council “will provide a structure for workers and management to resolve their disagreements. The council will investigate the dispute and, within 30 days of its establishment, deliver a report recommending how the dispute should be resolved,” the council said. White House.
Talks between major freight railroads, including Union Pacific and Berkshire Hathaway-owned BNSF, and unions representing their workers have dragged on for more than two years.
The order triggers a “cooling off” period to help the parties reach an agreement.
US business groups representing retailers as well as food and fuel producers have warned that failure to appoint a board would be “disastrous” for the flagging economy.
The railroads move everything from Amazon.com Inc. packages to fuel oil and soybeans, and a shutdown of any kind could drive up the prices of necessities and disrupt supply chains.