As deadline looms, railroads say strike would cost $2B a day

By JOSH FUNK
AP Business Writer

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — The major freight railroads say in a new report designed to put pressure on unions and Congress that a strike would cost the economy more than $2 billion a day and disrupt deliveries of all kinds of goods and passenger traffic nationwide if it happens after a key deadline passes next Friday without a contract agreement. Five of the 12 unions involved have announced tentative five-year agreements with 24% raises and $5,000 in bonuses, but several key unions are holding out in the hope that the railroads will also address some of their concerns about working conditions. A coalition of 31 agriculture groups sent a letter to Congress Thursday urging lawmakers to be prepared to intervene to block a strike if necessary.