Why Biden Prefers Angry Railroad Worker Unions to a Recession

A couple of days back President Biden signed into law the agreement reached by railroad workers and the railroads back in September but which had been rejected by several of the larger unions much to their ire. 

Although the railroad workers do get a 24% pay increase over the next five years and caps on health care premiums they did not get sick days and this was the sticking point. When it became clear there would not be negotiated agreement and a strike set to take place, Biden called upon Congress under its power under the Railway Labor Act of 1926 to ratify the existing agreement. He also called upon Congress to provide seven days of sick pay in separate legislation, but this did not reach the 60 vote threshold in the Senate. For his part, President Biden stated:

As a proud pro-labor President, I am reluctant to override the ratification procedures and the views of those who voted against the agreement. But in this case – where the economic impact of a shutdown would hurt millions of other working people and families – I believe Congress must use its powers to adopt this deal.

Simply put President Biden will would rather have a few railroad worker unions call him a scab than have a recession which would cause further disruptions in the supply chain, double unemployment and lead to double digit inflation. In this scenario, Biden would be dealing with far more angry people than he would now. Besides, while the railroad unions may have a point regarding sick days, there are a lot of American workers who would give their right arm to have a 24% pay increase and a cap on health care premiums. 

A railroad workers strike would have also given Donald Trump an opening to offer to negotiate a labor deal of his own and at least for a few minutes not talk about the 2020 election. If that had come to pass then Trump could claim some measure of credibility on the economy and labor relations. While I agree such a possibility is a remote one, Biden nevertheless could not take that chance. 

Come November 2024 very few voters are going to think about the railroad strike which almost was. But had their been a railroad strike voters would remember it and the recession which it caused. In the big picture, President Biden's decision was a no-brainer.