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The tentative agreement reached last week between railroads and employee unions faces another hurdle Thursday, according to The Hill.

What’s going on: “Rail workers are set to vote on the tentative deal reached between unions and railroads Thursday morning. If any of the 12 rail unions fail to ratify a new contract, nearly 125,000 rail workers could be headed for a strike.”

• The deal is similar to one put forward by a presidential emergency board last month. However, many workers think the language “is intentionally vague.”
• “For the strike threat to end, workers would need to feel that the proposed contract is far stronger than the deal offered by the PEB.”

Why it’s important: The consequences of a national rail stoppage would be “devastating” to both manufacturers and consumers, NAM President and CEO Jay Timmons told Fox News last week.

• U.S. railroads transport more than 40% of the country’s freight, and a strike would cost the economy $2 billion a day.

The NAM says: “During negotiations last week between the railroads and union leadership, manufacturers made clear the devastating impact that a rail strike would have on a supply chain already struggling to meet current industrial demands,” said NAM Director of Infrastructure Policy Ben Siegrist.

• “We applauded the announcement of a deal and would urge those who supported its tenets to conclude the process quickly to eliminate the threat of further economic instability.”