WASHINGTON – Railroad worker unions agreed to continue contract negotiations, President Biden announced. The announcement followed all-night negotiations brokered U.S. Labor Secretary Marty Walsh right up to the brink of a scheduled walkout. The deal prompted Amtrak to restore its long-distance passenger trains that roll on freight line tracks. These include the Empire Builder through Winona.
How strike averted
President Biden intervened to head off strikes against six Class I railroads. He argued that a strike would have slowed the gradual improvement of post-CoVid supply lines on which the U.S. economy depends. Meanwhile, talks will resume between the railroads and 150,000 locomotive engineers, conductors and other rail workers.