Dec 2, 2022

Over the past year, railroad workers have been staging an extended campaign to bolster wages and boost benefits. A tentative agreement between labor leaders and rail companies was rejected by three of the unions – including SMART-TD, the country’s largest rail worker union – creating the potential for a strike that would interrupt national supply chains. At the heart of this debate is a fight over paid sick-leave: freight rail workers must deal with a hectic scheduling and PTO system that prevents many workers from seeing doctors, recovering from illnesses, or dealing with personal affairs. [READ: DSA National statement on the negotiations.]

On Nov 28, President Biden urged Congress to ratify the tentative agreement – which does not include expanded sick leave – which would impose the contract on rail workers, including those who rejected it, and bar the workers from striking. On Wednesday night, the House of Representatives both approved the deal and an amendment that would guarantee workers 7 days of sick leave. However, the Senate needed to approve an amendment proposed by Bernie Sanders for the paid sick leave policy to be adopted. That amendment failed in the Senate during a Thursday afternoon vote – 52-43 (60 votes, for some reason, are needed to overcome the filibuster). The rail agreement is likely to be signed by President Biden without guaranteed PTO, which would legally bar workers from striking, leaving only the possibility of a wildcat strike.

More reading:

• Railroad Workers United open letter to Congress and the President.
• Politico – Rail contract faces uncertain future in the Senate

If you live in Virginia or Maryland, call your Senator and Congressional Representative and let them know how you feel about this.