EXPLAINER: What to know on Congress’ bid to bar rail strike
2 years ago

EXPLAINER: What to know on Congress’ bid to bar rail strike

Associated Press  

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden is asking Congress to intervene to avert a potentially crippling freight rail strike before Christmas and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is calling a vote this week to do so, even if it means handing a defeat to Democratic allies in the labor movement. In urging Congress to impose the deal that union leaders had agreed to in September, Biden pushed an aggressive option that would immediately resolve an impasse between freight railroads and the unions over paid sick leave that threatened a rail stoppage starting Dec. 9. If Congress acts in this go-around, it will end talks between the railroads and four rail unions that rejected the deal Biden helped broker before the original strike deadline in September. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and some progressive Democrats in the House are criticizing the compromise agreement as falling short, but Biden has urged swift passage “without any modifications or delay.” In a tweet Tuesday, Sanders threatened to slow down the measure if he doesn’t get a vote on an amendment that would add paid sick leave.

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History of this topic

US President Joe Biden signs bill to avoid December rail strike
2 years ago

US President Joe Biden signs bill to avoid December rail strike

Al Jazeera  

Biden vows to return to the issue of paid sick leave ‘not just for rail workers but for every worker in America’. But in a bill-signing ceremony at the White House on Friday, Biden opened his remarks by vowing to continue the fight for one of the rail unions’ key demands: paid sick leave. “We still have more work to …

Biden avoids rail strike but jeopardizes his union support
2 years ago

Biden avoids rail strike but jeopardizes his union support

LA Times  

President Biden disappointed some of his organized labor supporters over his intervention in a dispute between railroads and their workers. “It was the right thing to do at the moment, to save jobs to protect millions of working families from harm and destruction, and to keep supply chain stable around the holidays.” But the president risks alienating labor activists and …

Railroad unions decry Biden’s plan to block possible strike
2 years ago

Railroad unions decry Biden’s plan to block possible strike

Associated Press  

— Railroad unions on Tuesday decried President Joe Biden’s call for Congress to intervene in their contract dispute, saying it undercuts their efforts to address workers’ quality of life concerns, but businesses stressed that it is crucial to avoid a strike next week that would devastate the economy. “A call to Congress to act immediately to pass legislation that adopts …

Biden calls on Congress to head off potential rail strike
2 years ago

Biden calls on Congress to head off potential rail strike

Associated Press  

— President Joe Biden on Monday asked Congress to intervene and block a railroad strike before next month’s deadline in the stalled contract talks, and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said lawmakers would take up legislation this week to impose the deal that unions agreed to in September. “Without freight rail, many U.S. industries would shut down.” In a statement, Pelosi …

Congress leaders signal support for preventing US rail strike
2 years ago

Congress leaders signal support for preventing US rail strike

Al Jazeera  

US President Joe Biden would like to stop a rail strike that could cost the US economy $2bn a day. United States congressional leaders have expressed support for quickly ending a threatened rail workers’ strike that could sow chaos in the US economy. Speaking at the White House after a meeting with President Joe Biden Tuesday, Senate Majority Leader Chuck …

Column: Greedy railroads are to blame for rail strike threat. Why should Congress help them?
2 years ago

Column: Greedy railroads are to blame for rail strike threat. Why should Congress help them?

LA Times  

Freight train cars at a Union Pacific yard in City of Commerce. With a majority of rail workers balking at a contract negotiated with railroads under the eye of the Biden administration, a rail strike looms. The prevailing take on the looming national rail crisis is that a few recalcitrant railroad unions are poised go on strike Dec. 9, provoking …

Biden Calls On Congress To Head Off Potential Rail Strike
2 years ago

Biden Calls On Congress To Head Off Potential Rail Strike

Huff Post  

LOADING ERROR LOADING OMAHA, Neb. — President Joe Biden on Monday called on Congress to pass legislation to intervene and block a railroad strike before next month’s deadline in the stalled contract talks. A coalition of more than 400 business groups sent a letter to Congressional leaders Monday urging them to step into the stalled talks because of fears about …

Rail strike worry prompts businesses to seek WH intervention
2 years, 1 month ago

Rail strike worry prompts businesses to seek WH intervention

Associated Press  

— Businesses are increasingly worried about the renewed threat of a railroad strike after two unions rejected their deals, and they want the Biden administration and Congress to be ready to intervene. A coalition of 322 business groups from a variety of industries signed off on a letter to President Joe Biden Thursday urging him to make sure the deals …

Rail strike worries prompt businesses to seek federal intervention
2 years, 1 month ago

Rail strike worries prompt businesses to seek federal intervention

LA Times  

Freight train cars sit in a Norfolk Southern rail yard on Sept. 14, 2022, in Atlanta. Businesses are increasingly worried about the renewed threat of a railroad strike after two unions rejected their deals, and they want the White House and Congress to be ready to intervene. Businesses are increasingly worried about the renewed threat of a railroad strike after …

Tentative labor deal averts threat of nationwide rail strike
2 years, 3 months ago

Tentative labor deal averts threat of nationwide rail strike

Associated Press  

WASHINGTON — Rail companies and their workers reached a tentative agreement Thursday to avert a nationwide strike that could have shut down the nation’s freight trains and devastated the economy less than two months before the midterm elections. Joined in the Oval Office by business and union leaders, a beaming Biden joked that he was surprised everyone was “still standing” …

Biden, Dems see both political, economic wins in rail deal
2 years, 3 months ago

Biden, Dems see both political, economic wins in rail deal

Associated Press  

WASHINGTON — While President Joe Biden was quick to hail Thursday’s strike-averting rail agreement as a win for America, it was also a big win for him politically, allowing Democrats to sidestep what could have been an economic debacle before November’s midterm elections. The tentative deal, which still requires approval from a dozen unions, would raise members’ pay 24% over …

Biden intervenes in railroad contract fight to block strike
2 years, 5 months ago

Biden intervenes in railroad contract fight to block strike

Associated Press  

— President Joe Biden on Friday blocked a freight railroad strike for at least 60 days by naming a board of arbitrators to intervene in the contract dispute, averting action that could have disrupted all kinds of shipments. The president wrote in an executive order naming the arbitrators that he’d “been notified by the National Mediation Board that in its …

Biden averts freight railroad strike - for now
2 years, 5 months ago

Biden averts freight railroad strike - for now

CNN  

New York CNN Business — Worried about supply chain problems that are already causing problems for the nation’s economy, President Joe Biden took action Friday to prevent 115,000 US railroad workers from going on strike as planned early Monday morning, A strike would have brought nearly 30% of the nation’s freight to a screeching halt. Only at the end of …

Deadline to block freight rail strike looms before Biden
2 years, 5 months ago

Deadline to block freight rail strike looms before Biden

Associated Press  

— The deadline for President Joe Biden to intervene and keep 115,000 railroad workers from going on strike and disrupting deliveries of cars, crops, containers of imported goods and countless other products and raw materials is looming. The National Carriers’ Conference Committee that represents Union Pacific, BNSF, CSX, Norfolk Southern, Kansas City Southern and other railroads said it believes the …

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