Welcome to Mobility Minute, a newsletter published every Friday byWorldwide ERC®for the benefit of members and the global mobility and relocation industry. Here’s a quick glimpse of what you’ll find in this week’s issue:
Breaking News: U.S. Rail Strike Averted
Three Takeaways from COP27
The War in Ukraine Changed This Mobility Professional’s Business and Life
Continuing the Conversation All Year Long: Thoughts from Worldwide ERC’s President and CEO
U.S. Pilot Program on Online Passport Renewal
Send Us Your Company News for Mobility Magazine
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Breaking News: U.S. Rail Strike Averted
The United States Senate, by a vote of 80 to 15, passed a resolution (H.J.Res. 100) to ratify a tentative agreement between railroad carriers and labor organizations, thereby averting a potential strike by railroad workers. Congress acted to resolve remaining disputes on the agreement prior to the 9 December deadline. The resolution now goes to President Biden, who is expected to sign it.
The U.S. House of Representatives had passed H.J.Res. 100 on 30 November after a meeting the day before at the White House in which President Biden and congressional leaders agreed to act quickly. A strike would have crippled railway travel and the supply chain and cost to the economy of $500 million to $2 billon a day depending on the source. A disruption in rail service would have been equally damaging on the supply chain for workforce mobility.
Worldwide ERC joined a coalition of industry associations encouraging Congress to avert the strike and will continue to monitor this evolving situation.
Three Takeaways From COP27
The United Nations Climate Change Conference, known as COP27, wrapped up on 18 November after 10 days of negotiations and speeches by government officials and climate activists from around the world. The conference, held this year in Sharm el-Sheik, Egypt, touched on many points around climate change and sustainability.
Why is this important?
The reaffirmation of the Paris Agreement and a new focus on greenwashing will be the biggest concern of corporations and organizations within the global mobility industry as many grapple with improving their sustainability measures, editing their assignment and policy components in order to decrease emissions, and creating a “green” culture at work. Additionally, developed countries will spend the next year calculating financing for COP28 next year, which could have large ramifications for fossil fuel, coal, and natural gas companies in the coming years.
The War in Ukraine Changed This Mobility Professional’s Business and Life
On 24 February, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a “special military operation” in Ukraine. It was a mass invasion, with more troops deployed than in any event since World War II. The war has led to a humanitarian crisis, with thousands of casualties, and the conflict has forced millions of people to abandon their homes in Ukraine, sparking what the United Nations has called the fastest-growing refugee crisis since World War II.
For some Russians, the invasion of Ukraine made life in their country untenable overnight. Among the Russians who fled their homes are Irina Yakimenko and her family. Irina is the managing partner of Intermark Relocation, a relocation agency that operates in Russia and across Eastern Europe.
Irina sat down with us at GWS2022 in Las Vegas to discuss the state of mobility in Europe, how her business is adjusting to new challenges, and how her personal experiences fleeing Russia have changed the way she views relocation.
Following the amazing success of this year’s Global Workforce Symposium—the only event that brings our entire industry together as one—all of us here at Worldwide ERC® are eager to continue the important conversations that began in Las Vegas. Since GWS, we have taken these discussions on the road, sharing the valuable insights and lessons we learned with mobility professionals across the United States. We are also grateful for the input from our members as they alert us to new issues of concern, such as the potential rail strike.
The U.S. Department of State has launched a pilot program for U.S. nationals to renew their passports online. The pilot program involves processing batches of passports to meet quotas with the renewal portal opening and closing accordingly. As of the time of writing, the portal was open for new customers beginning on 20 November.
Why is this important?
In addition to applying online instead of by mail, the differences with the online process include uploading a digit photo (which can be taken by a family member or friend but must still meet certain requirements—selfies will not do) and paying by credit card instead of by check. Since you are not mailing an application with your old passport, the Department of State will simply void your current passport.
We are developing content for the next issue of Mobility magazine and on the hunt for member news to share in the Executive Spotlight section. Has your company recently announced promotions or appointed a new chair? We want to hear about it! Worldwide ERC® members can send their news directly toMobility magazine editor Alexa Schlosserby Monday, 5 December.
The term “climate refugee” has entered the environmental lexicon, and the Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP) has said there could be 1.2 billion such refugees by 2050 as the planet turns into a frying pan. The number is a guess, but perhaps not a wild one. The UN High Commissioner for Refugees says that an annual average of 21.5 million people have been displaced by extreme weather events since 2008, though it’s an open question whether global warming specifically can take the blame. —The Globe and Mail
In recent years, the furniture industry has begun to resemble the “fast fashion” industry, encouraging consumers to buy cheap items and replace them within a year or two. The Environmental Protection Agency estimates that Americans disposed of about 12 million tons of furniture in 2018—about 80% of which ended up in a landfill. —The Washington Post
One reason international business travel has not come back as strongly is that some employers have imposed restrictions on high-priced business-class airline tickets for long-haul flights. Employers are instead requiring travelers to take a cheaper connecting flight or to fly nonstop in premium economy or regular economy class. —The New York Times
The latest travel forecast for the rest of the year and into 2023 from theU.S. Travel Association predicts that international inbound travel to the U.S. could slow, attributed to economic concerns and long wait times for first-time visitor visa applicants. At this rate, the U.S. tourism economy is projected to recover fully from the effects of the pandemic in 2025.
Visa Wait Times Slow Tourism Recovery
One of the reasons for this decrease in international arrivals is the country’s long interview wait times for first-time visitor visa applicants, which in countries like Brazil, India, and Mexico can be as long as 400 to 800 days. In fact, the average wait time for first-time visitor visa applicants from the top 10 source countries for international arrivals is now over 400 days.
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