AKRON, Ohio — Time is running out on a potential deal between railroad and unions that would prevent a strike that could cause catastrophic economic damage.
Talks appear to have stalled between railway workers and their employers and a potential strike would have an economic impact in the billions of dollars.
Everything will be affected from food on your table, to the cars you drive, the clothes you wear and technology that we rely on daily.
President Biden is sounding the horn and the alarms telling Congress all deals must be on the table to stop a rail strike by December 9.
"It's not an easy call, but I think we have to do it. The economy's at risk." said Biden.
The strike would certainly put the economy at risk and would send it tumbling down further with supply chain issues, the loss of jobs and uncertainty in the market among a host of other issues.
Andrew Thomas, an associate professor of international business at the University of Akron, says this strike could cause a further financial burden on American families as energy costs would increase as they continue to deal with inflation.
"The future pricing of things like energy and other commodities that are so vital to things we consume. Those prices would surge," Thomas explains. "It would be painful. It would be painful for companies, it would be painful for workers, it will be painful for consumers. It would be painful for the overall American economy "
Congress has the ability to block a strike and impose a labor agreement on the workers under the 1926 Railway Labor Act.
Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi recently spoke on the urgency to prevent a strike even if it means preventing the union's ability to strike, "I don't like going against the ability of unions to strike, but weighing the equities, we must avoid a strike," she said.
President Biden, who is pro-union, has expressed publicly that he would rather see the two sides work things out. However, given the dire status of a potential deal and the time left to complete one, he says Congress must act.