- Title: U.S. Senators debate resolution to avoid rail worker strike
- Date: 14th September 2022
- Summary: WASHINGTON, D.C., UNITED STATES (SEPTEMBER 14, 2022) (SENATE TV) SENATE DAIS (SOUNDBITE) (English) REPUBLICAN SENATOR FROM NORTH CAROLINA, RICHARD BURR, SAYING: “If we don't do it, if we do not force this issue, at 12:01 tomorrow night the railroads will shut down and the economic impact on the American people is two billion dollars a day. Two billion.†WHITE FLASH (SOUNDBITE) (English) REPUBLICAN SENATOR FROM NORTH CAROLINA, RICHARD BURR, SAYING: “This is really weird that Senator Wicker and I are on the floor introducing legislation that supports the President's position and the position of the President's emergency board.†SENATE DAIS (SOUNDBITE) (English) REPUBLICAN SENATOR FROM MISSISSIPPI, ROGER WICKER, SAYING: “So we have an overwhelming majority of the unions agreeing to this, and 100% of management agreeing to it, but under the law that Congress in its wisdom passed years and years ago we have to have 100% of the 12 unions and there are four holdouts at this point. Pursuant to the statute, when we get to a situation like this, Congress can step in and that is what my friend is going to ask us to do in just a few minutes. The Congress can pass the recommendation of the (eds note: Presidential Emergency Board) PEB be in full, the Senate can pass it, send it over to the House, send it to the President who endorse the recommendation in full and we could avoid this strike.†SENATE DAIS (SOUNDBITE) (English) INDEPENDENT SENATOR FROM VERMONT, BERNIE SANDERS, SAYING: “There cannot be an approval of a union agreement unless the workers themselves vote on it, they have not voted on it. So in fact, there has been no approval by any union of the agreement.†WHITE FLASH (SOUNDBITE) (English) INDEPENDENT SENATOR FROM VERMONT, BERNIE SANDERS, SAYING: “It turns out that the key issue in the current negotiations is not about salaries. Apparently, there is an agreement on that. The key issue that is being contested is about the working conditions in the industry which are absolutely unacceptable and are almost beyond belief. Right now, if you work in the freight rail industry, one of the most grueling and dangerous jobs in America, you are entitled to a grand total of zero sick days. In case you missed it let me repeat it, you are entitled to zero sick days.†WHITE FLASH (SOUNDBITE) (English) INDEPENDENT SENATOR FROM VERMONT, BERNIE SANDERS, SAYING: “It turns out that guaranteeing 15 paid sick days to rail workers would cost the industry a grand total of 688 million a year. That is less than three and a half percent of their annual profits.†WHITE FLASH (SOUNDBITE) (English) INDEPENDENT SENATOR FROM VERMONT, BERNIE SANDERS, SAYING: “Madame president, if the Burr-Wicker resolution were to pass, this unfair and unsafe working conditions would be allowed to continue threatening the safety not only the workers for the passengers as well.†SENATE DAIS 16 (SOUNDBITE) (English) REPUBLICAN SENATOR FROM NORTH CAROLINA, RICHARD BURR, SAYING: “The railroad workers today get three weeks paid leave on average plus 11 paid vacation days. PEB made a recommendation that they get one additional paid leave day. We will add that in. That's almost a month of paid leave regardless what you call it, there's a month there.†WHITE FLASH REPUBLICAN SENATOR FROM NORTH CAROLINA, RICHARD BURR, SAYING: “But here's the promise I'll make to Senator Schumer: if you bring it to the floor I'm giving, I’ll produce 48 Republican votes for it. That means Democrats only need to produce 12 people who support it to keep the American people from having a two billion dollar a day economic impact negatively impacting now.†SENATE DAIS
- Embargoed: 28th September 2022 22:51
- Keywords: Railroads Richard Burr Roger Wicker Senate US rail shutdown
- Location: WASHINGTON D.C., UNITED STATES
- City: WASHINGTON D.C., UNITED STATES
- Country: USA
- Topics: Lawmaking,Government/Politics,United States
- Reuters ID: LVA001541514092022RP1
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Republican Senators submitted on Wednesday (September 14) a resolution to pass recommendations made by the Presidential Emergency Board to avert a potential rail shutdown in the United States.
Senator Richard Burr (R-NC) and Roger Wicker (R-MS) defended the measure on the Senate floor while Independent Senator Bernie Sanders spoke against it.
Sanders objected to the bid to unanimously approve legislation to prevent a rail strike, noting the profits the rail industry has made and saying rail worker unions are yet to fully vote on an agreement.
Railroads including Union Pacific, Berkshire Hathaway's BNSF, and Norfolk Southern have until a minute after midnight on Friday to reach deals with three holdout unions representing about 60,000 workers before a work stoppage affecting freight and Amtrak could begin.
Talks between labor unions and railroads were continuing late on Wednesday at the U.S. Labor Department overseen by Secretary Marty Walsh, while Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said it was urgent to reach a deal to avoid a shutdown.
A union representing about 4,900 machinists, mechanics, and maintenance personnel said on Wednesday its members voted to reject its tentative deal.
Railroads have offered significant pay increases. Three of 12 unions, representing about half of the 115,000 workers affected by the negotiations, are holding out for better working conditions. Two of those 12 unions, representing more than 11,000 workers, have ratified deals, the National Carriers' Conference Committee (NCCC), which is bargaining on behalf of railroads, said on Wednesday.
A shutdown could freeze almost 30% of U.S. cargo shipments by weight, stoke inflation, cost the U.S. economy as much as $2 billion per day, and unleash a cascade of transportation woes affecting the U.S. energy, agriculture, manufacturing, and retail sectors.
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