More than 190 members of the Agricultural Transportation Working Group want Congress to prepare to help prevent a railroad strike or lockout.
Beef Magazine says a strike or lockout would shut down all rail-dependent facilities and result in devastating consequences to both national and global food security.
The Biden administration successfully helped broker an agreement between the National Railway Labor Conference and 12 labor unions on September 15th.
But two unions voted against the agreement while four others continue reviewing it.
The food and agriculture groups sent a letter to congressional leadership saying action will be necessary if the parties fail to reach an agreement.
“Resolution of the dispute before November 19 is necessary to ensure uninterrupted rail service,” the letter says.
“Adding urgency to the matter is critical inputs, and agricultural products like ammonia could be embargoed starting November 14th.”
They say a rail strike would be “catastrophic” to the U.S. economy.
