Railroad unions decry Biden’s plan to block possible strike

By JOSH FUNK
AP Business Writer

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — President Joe Biden’s call for Congress to intervene in the railroad contract dispute undercuts efforts to address workers’ quality of life concerns and unions decried the move. But businesses stress that it is crucial to avoid a strike that would devastate the economy. Biden and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Monday that lawmakers will be asked to vote this week to impose the terms of the deals the 12 unions agreed to before the original strike deadline in September even though four of those unions representing more than half of the 115,000 rail workers rejected them. Biden said he reluctantly agreed that it would be best to override the union votes because the potential damage to the economy would be too great.