Sens. Richard M. Burr and Roger Wicker introduced a joint resolution Monday that would require unions and freight railroads to accept the recommendations of a presidential emergency board to avert a strike or lockout that could come as early as Friday.
The joint resolution by Burr, R-N.C., and Wicker, R-Miss., is a sign of Washington’s increasing nervousness about the disruption of a strike or lockout. Wicker and Burr said a shutdown would cost $2 billion a day in lost output.
With the economy still facing inflation running close to a 40-year high, a shutdown of freight rail would also complicate supply chain problems that arose in the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. Two House subcommittees are scheduled to meet Thursday to take stock of the freight rail system.
