{"id":518219,"date":"2022-11-30T03:00:00","date_gmt":"2022-11-30T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/biden-congress-race-to-avert-economy-shaking-railroad-strike\/"},"modified":"2022-11-30T03:00:00","modified_gmt":"2022-11-30T00:00:00","slug":"biden-congress-race-to-avert-economy-shaking-railroad-strike","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/biden-congress-race-to-avert-economy-shaking-railroad-strike\/","title":{"rendered":"#Biden, Congress race to avert economy-shaking railroad strike"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_85 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a407631c85fc\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a407631c85fc\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-1'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/biden-congress-race-to-avert-economy-shaking-railroad-strike\/#Biden_Congress_race_to_avert_economy-shaking_railroad_strike\" >Biden, Congress race to avert economy-shaking railroad strike<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h1><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Biden_Congress_race_to_avert_economy-shaking_railroad_strike\"><\/span>Biden, Congress race to avert economy-shaking railroad strike<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h1>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/11\/bidenjoe_112922ap_w.jpg?w=900\" \/><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>A potential railroad strike has thrown President Biden a holiday curveball and pushed Congress into crisis mode, scrambling to finalize a federal fix to stave off an economy-rattling freight shutdown at the end of next week.<\/p>\n<p>Biden hosted the top four congressional leaders at the White House on Tuesday, less than a day after he\u2019d urged Congress to break the impasse between rail companies and unionized employees that\u2019s threatened to freeze much of the nation\u2019s freight system on Dec. 9.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"ad-unit ad-unit--mr1_ab\"><\/aside>\n<p>Shortly after the gathering, House Democratic leaders said they\u2019d rush a resolution to the floor Wednesday morning, where it\u2019s expected to pass with bipartisan support despite reservations from lawmakers on the fringes of both parties.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis is about whether or not we shut down the railroads of America, which would have extreme, negative impacts on our economy,\u201d House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) told reporters as he announced the vote.<\/p>\n<p>The proposal has been panned both by liberals, who said it doesn\u2019t go far enough to help rail workers, particularly when it comes to sick leave benefits, and by conservatives, who are attacking the very notion that the federal government would \u201cmeddle\u201d in a private sector dispute. And Hoyer stopped short of saying it has the votes to pass.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe just got back,\u201d he said. \u201cWe\u2019re counting.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>All sides agree that a rail shutdown would debilitate an already fragile economy heading into the holidays, and top lawmakers in both parties <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">app<\/a>eared ready to push the bill through, saying they had no other choice.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAt this late hour, it is clear that there is little we can do other than to support this measure,\u201d Rep. Tom Cole (Okla.), the ranking Republican on the House Rules Committee, said Tuesday as the bill was sent to the floor. \u201cThe clock is running out, and the president has made clear that this resolution is necessary to avoid a costly strike at the nation\u2019s railroads right as we go into the holiday season.\u201d<\/p>\n<aside class=\"ad-unit ad-unit--mr2_ab\"><\/aside>\n<p>The heavier lift will be in the Senate, where 60 votes will be needed to avoid a GOP filibuster \u2014 a bar that will be tougher to top if liberal senators also oppose the measure.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said it\u2019s too early to know how many Republicans will get on board.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere are mixed views, and you\u2019ll just have to work a little harder and talk to our members about it,\u201d he told reporters in the Capitol.\u00a0<\/p>\n<aside class=\"ad-unit ad-unit--mr3_ab\"><\/aside>\n<p>Under a 1926 law, Congress has the power to intervene in labor disputes between railroad companies and their workers \u2014 a power designed to prevent interruptions in vital interstate commerce. Since then, Congress has tapped that authority 18 times to avoid strikes,\u00a0according to the\u00a0<a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.uschamber.com\/security\/supply-chain\/fact-sheet-congress-has-intervened-18-times-in-railroad-labor-negotiations\">Chamber of Congress<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>In September, the Biden administration had brokered a last-minute deal between the rail carriers and union leaders that averted a strike before the midterm elections. But train workers at one of the largest rail unions, SMART-TD, voted it down, citing the absence of new paid sick leave benefits in the White House deal.<\/p>\n<p>Those same concerns are at the center of the current dispute. Union leaders pressed for 15 days of paid sick leave, but the White House\u2019s tentative agreement only provided one additional personal day \u2014 a significant difference that is drawing ire among union workers and left-leaning lawmakers.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"ad-unit ad-unit--mr4_ab\"><\/aside>\n<p>The Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employes Division of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters \u2014 the third-largest rail union in the U.S. \u2014 has argued that depriving employees of sick leave will worsen supply chain problems rather than alleviate the snafus.<\/p>\n<p>Liberal lawmakers are jumping on that bandwagon, including Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), who blocked legislation in September that would have forced workers to accept the agreement without paid leave. Tuesday afternoon, he vowed to block consideration of the resolution until the Senate votes on his amendment guaranteeing seven paid sick days for rail workers.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAt a time of record profits in the rail industry, it\u2019s unacceptable that rail workers have ZERO guaranteed paid sick days,\u201d Sanders wrote on <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/social-mediaa\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"1\" title=\"Social Media\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Twitter<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>With the House poised to vote on Wednesday, liberals in the lower chamber have joined Sanders in bashing Congress\u2019s heavy hand.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo worker in America should have to choose between their health and a paycheck,\u201d Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.), a deputy whip of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, wrote on Twitter. \u201cI will not vote in favor of any rail agreement that comes to the House floor without adequate sick days and the support of rail workers.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) acknowledged that the resolution is imperfect, citing the absence of new sick leave benefits. But she\u2019s also defending the resolution as the last best chance to avert a strike \u2014 and economic disaster.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t like going against the ability of unions to strike, but weighing the equities, we must avoid a strike,\u201d Pelosi said as she left the White House. \u201cJobs will be lost, even union jobs will be lost, water will not be safe, products will not be going to market, we could lose 750,000 jobs, some of them union jobs. That must be avoided.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), another liberal icon, said she recognizes the dangers of crippling the economy with a rail strike, but added that \u201cit\u2019s also powerfully important that workers not be forced to show up injured or sick to work because they can\u2019t get a handful of sick days from their employer.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She wants to give the unions more time to negotiate.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"ad-unit ad-unit--mr5_ab\"><\/aside>\n<p>\u201cRight now, we need to keep pushing the parties to find an agreement,\u201d Warren said. \u201cThere\u2019s plenty of money for these rail companies to provide a few sick days for the people that are actually doing the work.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The concerns have not gone unheard, but Biden and top Democrats are nonetheless plowing ahead with the congressional fix, contending that the risks of a strike are too dire to ignore.<\/p>\n<p>Asked if Biden would support including paid leave in the resolution, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre stressed the need to protect the agreement that has support from a majority of unions.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe president\u2019s not going to take any action that would undermine the urgent need to avert a harmful rail shutdown. That\u2019s the way that the president sees this,\u201d Jean-Pierre said. \u201cAgain, he\u2019s the president for all Americans.\u201d<\/p>\n<aside class=\"ad-unit ad-unit--mr6_ab\"><\/aside>\n<p>The decision to intervene in the rail negotiations is a personal one for Biden, who as a senator in 1992 was one of six to vote against emergency legislation that ended a two-day rail shutdown, one of the 18 times Congress has intervened in such matters.<\/p>\n<p>In his Monday statement calling on Congress to intervene amid the stalemate, Biden touted his pro-union bona fides while underscoring the threat a rail strike poses.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAs a proud pro-labor President, I am reluctant to override the ratification procedures and the views of those who voted against the agreement,\u201d Biden said. \u201cBut in this case \u2014 where the economic impact of a shutdown would hurt millions of other working people and families \u2014 I believe Congress must use its powers to adopt this deal.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) has not specified when the House resolution would be considered in the upper chamber. But he\u2019s stressing that Congress has no time to lose.\u00a0<\/p>\n<aside class=\"ad-unit ad-unit--mr7_ab\"><\/aside>\n<p>\u201cWhile the actual deadline of the railroads being shut down is the 8th, our real deadline is sooner than that because \u2026 many of the people who, many of the suppliers, if they believe there may well be a shutdown, will then not send their goods,\u201d Schumer said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo the real deadline is sooner and we\u2019re going to try to solve this ASAP.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><em>Al Weaver and Alex Gangitano contributed reporting.<\/em>\n<\/div>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMLG0nwswvr63Aw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">For forums sites go to <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/forum.buradabiliyorum.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Forum.BuradaBiliyorum.Com<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/news\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"2\" title=\"News\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">News<\/a> articles, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/news\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">News category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/homenews\/house\/3755304-congress-races-to-avert-economy-shaking-railroad-strike\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Biden, Congress race to avert economy-shaking railroad strike A potential railroad strike has thrown President Biden a holiday curveball and pushed Congress into crisis mode, scrambling to finalize a federal fix to stave off an economy-rattling freight shutdown at the end of next week. Biden hosted the top four congressional leaders at the White House&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":518220,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thehill.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/11\/bidenjoe_112922ap_w.jpg?w=1280","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[70897],"tags":[134344,51421,30889,134595,134418,134420,90482,991,35813,41445,54077,135051,134590,134539,136409,136404,70289,135197],"class_list":["post-518219","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-administration","tag-bernie-sanders","tag-biden","tag-charles-schumer","tag-congress-blog","tag-equilibrium-sustainability","tag-house","tag-joe-biden","tag-kevin-mccarthy","tag-mitch-mcconnell","tag-nancy-pelosi","tag-overnight-cybersecurity","tag-overnight-energy-environment","tag-overnight-healthcare","tag-railway-strike","tag-ro-khanna","tag-senate","tag-steny-hoyer"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/518219","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=518219"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/518219\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/518220"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=518219"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=518219"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=518219"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}