WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden signed a bill to avoid a rail strike that he said could have caused 765,000 job losses in two weeks and plunged the country into recession.
The bill he signed binds rail companies and workers to a proposed settlement that was reached between the railroads and union leaders in September but rejected by the workers of some unions.
Members of four of the 12 unions involved had rejected the proposed contract as lacking sufficient paid sick leave, setting up the possibility of a strike beginning Dec. 9. Biden acknowledged the shortcoming and said he would continue to push for that benefit for every U.S. worker.
