U.S. House backs bill averting national rail strike, imposing deal on unions
Global News
The measure passed by a vote of 290-137 and now heads to the Senate. If approved there, it will be quickly signed by President Joe Biden, who requested the action.
The U.S. House moved urgently to head off the looming nationwide rail strike on Wednesday, passing a bill that would bind companies and workers to a proposed settlement that was reached in September but rejected by some of the 12 unions involved.
The measure passed by a vote of 290-137 and now heads to the Senate. If approved there, it will be quickly signed by President Joe Biden, who requested the action.
Biden on Monday asked Congress to intervene and avert the rail stoppage that could strike a devastating blow to the nation’s fragile economy by disrupting the transportation of fuel, food and other critical goods. Business groups including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the American Farm Bureau Federation warned that halting rail service would cause a US$2 billion per day hit to the economy.
The bill would impose a compromise labour agreement brokered by the Biden administration that was ultimately voted down by four of the 12 unions representing more than 100,000 employees at large freight rail carriers. The unions have threatened to strike if an agreement can’t be reached before a Dec. 9 deadline.
Lawmakers from both parties expressed reservations about overriding the negotiations. And the intervention was particularly difficult for Democratic lawmakers who have traditionally sought to align themselves with the politically powerful labour unions that criticized Biden’s move to intervene in the contract dispute and block a strike.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi responded to that concern by adding a second vote Wednesday that would add seven days of paid sick leave per year for rail workers covered under the agreement. However, it will take effect only if the Senate goes along and passes both measures.
The call for more paid sick leave was a major sticking point in the talks. The railroads say the unions have agreed in negotiations over the decades to forgo paid sick time in favor of higher wages and strong short-term disability benefits.
The head of the Association of American Railroads trade group said Tuesday that railroads would consider adding paid sick time in the future, but said that change should wait for a new round of negotiations instead of being added now, near the end of three years of contract talks.
The leader of President Yoon Suk Yeol's party stressed the need to suspend Yoon’s presidential duties and power swiftly, saying he poses a 'significant risk of extreme actions.'
Bird flu has infected more than 500 dairy herds in top milk state California, and more than 700 nationwide since March, raising concerns of the impact to the milk supply.
The WHO experts are on their way to Panzi, in the southwestern Kwango province, where they'll deliver essential medicines and diagnostic kits to help analyse the cause.
Three mountain climbers — two from the U.S. and one from Canada — missing for five days on Aoraki, New Zealand’s tallest peak, are believed to have died in a fall.
Macron came out fighting a day after a historic no-confidence vote prompted by budget disputes at the National Assembly left France without a functioning government.
Svetlana Dali was able to get through an advanced imaging technology body scanner at JFK Airport, and dodge document and ID checks during the security process.
Foreign Minister Melanie Joly said the policy will respond to the growing global threat environment, and Canada's responsibility to protect its own Arctic sovereignty
NASA's plans to orbit the moon and to eventually conduct another landing mission have been delayed again due to issues with the Orion crew capsule.
President Emmanuel Macron insisted he will serve the rest of his term until 2027 despite growing opposition calls for his departure amid the turmoil.
A flu-like disease that has killed dozens of people over two weeks is being investigated in southwestern Congo, local authorities said.
South Korea’s opposition parties Wednesday submitted a motion to impeach President Yoon Suk Yeol over a shocking and short-lived martial law.