This week, the nation was staring down a potential railroad strike because rail unions and rail carriers have not been able to reach an agreement over worker pay, sick leave and other benefits. At the last minute, Congress intervened and passed legislation that legally requires both sides to accept an agreement that had been tentatively negotiated in September.
There’s no doubt that a rail strike would have damaged our economy. It would have exacerbated the supply chain crisis and driven prices even higher.
However, was it Congress’s role to step into the middle of a labor dispute? Should Washington have forced both sides to accept an agreement that railroad workers had voted down?
I discuss this – and the lessons we can learn about our supply chain – in the latest Week in Review.
