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Buttigieg: Rail strike would force Americans to boil their water and economy would grind to a halt

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Pete Buttigieg said Americans would be forced to boil their water to make sure it's clean and multiple areas of the economy would be crippled if there was a rail strike on December 9.

The Transportation Secretary painted a grim picture of how worker walkout would impact the Holiday season as he urged the Senate to get a bill passed and onto President Biden's desk.

'There is no substitute in the U.S. for functioning freight rail, and if a shut down were to occur, that's not just shutting down our trains, it's really shutting down our economy,' Buttigieg told MSNBC's Morning Joe program on Thursday.

The House passed two pieces of legislation Wednesday, one to avoid a strike and one on giving railroad workers at least seven days of paid sick leave.

The measures will now need to pass the Senate before going to President Joe Biden's desk, which Buttigieg, and other White House officials, say needs to happen by the weekend at the latest.

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said the economy would face dire consequences if U.S. railroads were to shut down from a strike

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said the economy would face dire consequences if U.S. railroads were to shut down from a strike 

The first bill passed by the House Wednesday was forcing a tentative agreement reached between Biden and railroad unions in September negotiations, which fell apart this fall after four of the 12 unions refused the terms.

The resolution echoed much of that previous agreement and included a 24 percent salary increase for rail workers by 2024, $5,000 in annual bonuses and caps on healthcare premiums.

It's unclear if there are the 60 votes needed in the upper chamber to pass both measures – but it's much more likely the bill avoiding a strike would pass before the one permitting seven paid sick days.

Buttigieg says he is hopeful that the bill will pass the Senate.

'I think it will. I hope it will,' he told the Morning Joe hosts. 'I'm going to be spending time with senators today, mainly to make sure they understand the implications of inaction for our transportation system.'

Buttigieg said a railroad shut down would collapse the economy and lead to 765,000 layoffs. Also said Americans would have to boil their water or get bottled water because 'water treatment plants would run out of the supplies'

Buttigieg said a railroad shut down would collapse the economy and lead to 765,000 layoffs. Also said Americans would have to boil their water or get bottled water because 'water treatment plants would run out of the supplies'

He then described what would happen to the economy if rail workers were to strike and shut down the U.S. train system.

'Immediately you would see effects, including when it comes to inflation, prices shooting up because of the cost of shipping,' Buttigieg detailed.

'You would see water treatment plants in some cases, fairly quickly, running out of the supplies that they need and you could have American citizens in cities around the U.S. being told they need to boil their water or resort to bottled water,' he added.

'Within a few days, you would start to see our ports unable to operate because they couldn't ship the goods out of the ports,' Buttigieg said. 'So they would eventually get so congested, they would have to turn ships away. You would see our auto industry very quickly grinding to a halt, because many facilities only have a couple of days of parts on hand.'

The Transportation head repeated previous estimates that in the 'first two weeks of a shut down' of the railroad system, there would be 765,000 layoffs. 'And there's no guarantee that laid off workers would get their jobs back after a disruption ended,' he added.

Rail strike looms as Congress works to impose tentative benefit agreement four of 12 unions object to: What's at stake 

Eight out of twelve rail workers' unions have accepted a White House-brokered tentative agreement between labor leaders and rail operators that includes a 24 percent pay increase. Four other major labor unions have not accepted the deal, arguing it does not allow their workers enough sick time. 

Biden has now called on Congress to act to impose the deal on workers who have not accepted it before the December 9 deadline, after which they will strike if there is no deal. 

What's in the deal: 

Time off for medical appointments - workers will be able to take time off for medical appointments without being penalized. 

Pay raises - workers will be offered a 24 percent pay raise over the fivey-ear period from 2020-2024, back pay and cash bonuses, with 14 percent of the raise taking effect immediately

No health care hikes - the agreement prevents increases to healthcare copays and deductibles, a big win for workers. 

More time off - workers would be given voluntarily assigned days off and one more paid day off per year. 

Two-person crews - The deal protects two-person crews indefinitely, after workers voiced safety concerns when they were asked to operate trains by themselves

What's not in the deal: 

15 days of sick leave - workers who object to the deal say this is their sticking point. The tentative deal only offers one additional day of sick leave. 

What happens if a deal isn't reached by December 9:

As Biden noted, a rail strike would 'devastate our economy,' and could put up to 765,000 out of work. The president noted that it could even affect the drinking water supply and livestock and agriculture. Businesses the nation over could be forced to shut their doors without access to the supplies they need, and the U.S. economy could lose out on $2 billion per day.

If even one of the unions goes on strike, the other 11 honor the picket lines, shutting down railroads. 

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