The tentative deal prevented a strike, but it failed to appease workers, and Congress ultimately had to intervene by imposing an agreement. Last year, the administration hustled to forge a tentative agreement between rail companies and their unionized workers to avoid a strike that could have injured the economy before the midterm elections. The White House says that Biden's policies have created these conditions.īut a series of strikes could also sink the U.S. Unemployment is a low 3.6%, and job openings are relatively high. Teamsters President Sean O'Brien has asked Biden not to get in the middle of negotiations.īiden administration officials say that unions are empowered to press for more benefits and better pay because of the strong job market. As more Americans shop online, UPS drivers say they need air conditioning in more trucks and equal pay for weekend shifts. The Teamsters are threatening a strike by 340,000 UPS workers if a deal is not reached with the delivery company by July 31. The union contracts expire before midnight on Sept. They want to ensure there are union protections and top-scale wages at new battery plants for electric vehicles. The United Auto Workers has begun contract talks with the Detroit Three automakers, and members say they expect a possible strike. The strike has put TV shows and movies in limbo. Hollywood production is shut down as the Writers Guild and the Screen Actors Guild are striking, partially over concerns about streaming revenues as well as AI taking away jobs from creative workers. Companies, however, seem reluctant to meet unions' terms in separate contract talks with script writers, actors, autoworkers and UPS employees. But the Democratic president also knows from past experience that a strike could harm his reelection chances.īiden has long called on businesses to hire unionized workers, saying that the premium paid will lead to higher quality work. Biden is trying to allay those concerns by saying unions should be a part of the way ahead. “Union workers are the best in the world.”īut tensions are rising between unions and companies about a rapidly evolving economy in which artificial intelligence, clean energy and e-commerce are rewriting some of the basic rules of work. “A lot of my friends in organized labor know, when I think climate, I think jobs,” the president said.
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