Moving quickly to help avert a rail workers strike that would have cost the national economy an estimated $2 billion per day, the U.S. Senate on Dec. 1 advanced a tentative labor agreement between railroads and their employees.
Senators on Dec. 1 voted 80-15 on the bill, which had been approved in the House of Representatives the previous day.
This quick congressional action cleared for President Joe Biden’s signature a measure deemed vital by lawmakers. After months of labor negotiations, unions indicated they were prepared to strike beginning Dec. 9, which threatened to snarl supply chains amid the holiday shipping season.
