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An agreement has been reached after a marathon of negotiations.

Early this morning, after a marathon 20-hour negotiation, a tentative verbal deal was struck between the representative of the railway workers union, railway company managers, and the United States Department of Labor. With this new deal, a potential railway strike, which would have been absolutely devastating for the US economy, has been successfully averted.

“We’re very proud of what was accomplished,” said Jeremy Ferguson, president of the conductors union and one of the leaders involved in the marathon session. “Everybody pulled together to make sure that we could get our members what they deserved,” he said.

“This is the quality of life issue we have been trying to get for our members since bargaining started,” said Dennis Pierce, president of the engineers’ union.

“It is a win for tens of thousands of rail workers who worked tirelessly through the pandemic to ensure that America’s families and communities got deliveries of what have kept us going during these difficult years,” US President Joe Biden, who called into the negotiations late Wednesday night, said in a statement. “These rail workers will get better pay, improved working conditions, and peace of mind around their health care costs: all hard-earned.”

Railroad and union officials summoned to Washington for high-stakes day of talks as the Biden administration tries to help avoid a freight rail strike that could cause massive supply chain disruptions and have significant repercussions on the economy https://t.co/iMSeM3wfVI

— CNN Politics (@CNNPolitics) September 14, 2022

“This is fantastic news for the economy,” said Eric Hoplin, CEO of the National Association of Wholesale Distributors, told CNN. “My phone has been ringing off the hook over the last 48 hours, talking to distribution leaders from across the country, who were spelling out what some of the catastrophic consequences could have been to America’s supply chain and the economy.”

The new agreement will need to be written up and ratified to completely end the threat of strike, but for the time being, the projected beginning to the strike on Friday has been averted.