NRF Hails WH Creation of Emergency Board to Avert Sept. Rail Strike

The National Retail Federation applauded President Joe Biden’s executive order Friday creating a presidential emergency board of independent arbitrators, effective Monday, to help bring labor peace to major U.S. rail freight carriers and their unions. Thousands of retailers and other enterprises rely on rail freight carriers to move goods through the supply chain, said NRF Senior Vice President-Government Relations David French. “Now that we are in the peak shipping season for back-to-school and winter holiday merchandise,” it’s critical that freight railroads and their unions reach agreement on a new labor contract “without any kind of rail service disruption this fall,” he said Friday. The board will “provide a structure for workers and management to resolve their disagreements,” said the White House Friday. The board will issue a report within 30 days recommending how the dispute should be resolved, it said. The EO triggers a new 30-day cooling-off period to keep the parties working toward a negotiated settlement, said the White House. The existing cooling-off period expired Sunday. NRF CEO Matthew Shay wrote Biden July 6 urging him to appoint a board to avert a possible rail strike in September (see 2207070001).