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.

Vivek Astvansh is a marketing professor who has studied labor unionization. He is the associate director of research at the Center for Education and Research in Retail, an affiliate of the Environmental Resilience Institute, and a fellow of the Institute for Corporate Governance at the Kelley School of Business at IU Bloomington. He also researches how marketing (thoughts, personnel, actions and assets) can help a company improve its performance in the society, product market and financial market.

Expertise

Machine learning, artificial intelligence, innovation, customer service, chatbot, supply chain, gender diversity, cultural diversity, innovation, social media, news media, branding, environmental pollution (climate...

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