Strike Averted: Deal Made in the Eleventh Hour

Threats of a nationwide strike have come to a relative agreement with the influence of the Executive Branch early this morning. 

Railroads and unions have been in talks about changing rules for workers, and a planned strike was going to take place this Friday. However, with a compromise between the railroad and the unions, we won't expect extreme shortages for companies and everyday people in the following weeks. Unions have been asking for better working conditions and not being penalized for taking a day off work to see a doctor, which generally would cause workers to at least get one strike against them. If workers get a certain number of strikes, they will be disciplined. 

Montana Right Now writes, the country and the President "faced the same kind of predicament faced by Theodore Roosevelt in 1902 with coal and Harry Truman in 1952 with steel — how do you balance the needs of labor and business in doing what's best for the nation?" If the President hadn't reached an agreement, we would have seen even more shortages in the grocery stores, more inflation, and a plummet in the nation's economy - all of which everyone wants to avoid. We are still seeing stock shortages around the country due to coronavirus and the halt it brought to companies."

Some estimates say that the strike could have cost the American economy as much as $2 billion a day.

The President stated in a press release, "These rail workers will get better pay, improved working conditions, and peace of mind around their health care costs: all hard-earned." By coming to a tentative agreement between railway companies and union workers, railroads keep supply and demand at bay and keep the working people happy.