File – Locomotives are coupled to railway cars in the Selkirk rail yard Wednesday, Sept. 14, 2022, in Selkirk, N.Y. President Joe Biden said Thursday, Sept. 15, 2022, that a tentative railway labor agreement has been reached, averting a potentially devastating strike before the pivotal midterm elections. (AP Photo/Hans Pennink, File)
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UPDATED 1:11 PM PT – Thursday, September 15, 2022
Joe Biden praised the recent railway labor deal that averted a major strike.
In the Oval Office, President Biden thanks business and labor for reaching the tentative railway deal. “Both business and labor, they worked through this,” he says. pic.twitter.com/UqO5YnPkUX
— Ken Thomas (@KThomasDC) September 15, 2022
On Thursday, Biden addressed the result of the 20-hour negotiations between unions and railway company representatives. The talks also included White House officials who sought to prevent the strike of workers. The strike would have resulted in railway shutdowns.
Biden also announced that uninterrupted work of the railway system is necessary to ease the supply chain crisis.
“The rail system literally is the backbone of the nation,” Biden said. “People are now learning out of necessity about what a supply chain means – two years ago, people didn’t know, nor should they know what a supply chain – all the consequences of the pandemic and the rest.”
Biden called the deal a “big win for America.” He added that a railroad shutdown would be unacceptable.