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Freight rail strike could disrupt U.S. supply chain: IU experts available to comment

Courtesy: Getty Images.

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Amid high prices and the holiday shopping season, U.S. lawmakers are debating how to address a looming threat to the country’s supply chain in the form of a potential work stoppage among freight rail workers.

A strike — which could cost the economy an estimate $2 billion a day and impact critical resources such as fresh water as well as access to consumer goods — is expected to begin Dec. 9 if lawmakers are unable to complete passage of a House bill to codify a tentative contract agreement over the objection of some workers. But delays are emerging in the Senate over partisan conflicts related to the issue of paid sick leave, among other contract terms.

IU experts on supply chain, economics and labor studies are available to comment.

For more information, contact Kevin Fryling at kfryling@iu.edu or 812-856-2988.

Kenneth G. Dau-Schmidt
IU Bloomington

Kenneth G. Dau-Schmidt

Maurer School of Law

Professor Kenneth Dau-Schmidt is a nationally recognized teacher and scholar on the subjects of labor and employment law and the economic analysis of legal problems. His innovative teaching methods using classroom simulations have been widely featured in publications including the Christian Science Monitor, Chronicle of Higher Education, Chicago Sun-Times and National Jurist.

Expertise

Labor law, including unions, collective bargaining, NLRB processes and public sector unions; employment law, including employment contracts, Fair Labor Standards Act (minimum wage law), OSHA (safety), workers compensation, unemployment compensation, ERISA (pensions); and the legal profession, including income, job satisfaction, hours worked, gender.

Marquita Walker
IU Indianapolis

Marquita Walker

School of Social Work, Department of Labor Studies

Marquita Walker is the interim chair and associate professor of labor studies at the IU School of Social Work. Most of her research explores a theoretical approach and practical application to the (re)entry of workers into the workforce and the protection of workers’ rights.

Expertise

Workers’ education and (re)entry into the workforce, labor-management relationships, the protection of workers’ rights in global supply chains, indirect bias as a barrier to women’s entry into apprenticeship programs and the workforce in general.

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