Environment and Energy
Biden Signs Law to Avert Nationwide Rail Strike
Written by Becca Moczygemba
December 3, 2022
President Joseph Biden on Friday Dec. 2 signed into law a bill aimed at averting a nationwide rail strike.
The law compels railroad unions to accept a tentative agreement reached in September.
The unions opposed the agreement because it did not provide paid sick days. Railroad companies and the unions faced a Dec. 9 deadline to reach a deal, after which point there could have been strike.
The government is authorized to intervene in contract negotiations if a strike might have serious economic impact because of the Railway Labor Act, which was enacted in 1926.
Biden signed the law after the House passed legislation to avert a rail strike on Wednesday. The next day the Senate followed. The swift passage followed concerns that a nationwide strike could hobble the national supply chain and the economy.
Domestic steel lobbying groups had expressed their support for the law because steel relies heavily on the rail system. The American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) estimated that railroads moved more than 1.5 million carloads of steel and steelmaking raw materials last year.
By Becca Moczygemba, Becca@SteelMarketUpdate.com
Becca Moczygemba
Read more from Becca MoczygembaLatest in Environment and Energy
November energy market update
In this Premium analysis we cover North American oil and natural gas prices, drilling rig activity, and crude oil stock levels. Trends in energy prices and rig counts are an advance indicator of demand for oil country tubular goods (OCTG), line pipe and other steel products.
SMU Spotlight: CRU’s Paul Butterworth talks EAFs, CBAM, and decarbonization
Last month I traveled to Sweden to the CRU Steel Decarbonisation Summit in Stockholm. I wanted to see if the European take on decarbonization was broadly different from what we are talking about here in the US.
SSAB OK’d for $139M from European Commission for decarb
Sweden’s SSAB has been awarded €128 million by the European Commission for the steelmaker’s efforts at decarbonization.
GSCC introduces label for new emissions target
The Global Steel Climate Council (GSCC) has taken a step forward in standardizing the decarbonization process with the publishing of its labeling for a certified science-based emissions target.
DOE set to measure GHG intensity of industrial products, including steel
The US Department of Energy (DOE) is launching a pilot project to measure the greenhouse gas (GHG) intensity of certain energy-intensive industrial products, including steel.