House Approves Legislation To Prevent Rail Strike

Topline

The House voted Wednesday to ratify a formal labor agreement between rail companies and labor unions, and voted to grant rail workers additional sick-leave benefits, aiming to prevent a strike that would cripple U.S. supply chains and deliver a severe blow to the economy.

Activists in support of unionized rail workers protest outside the U.S. Capitol Building on November … [+] 29, 2022. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

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Key Facts

The House voted 290-137 on Wednesday to formalize an agreement President Joe Biden made with railroad unions and companies in September to raise rail workers’ wages by 24% by 2024.

Lawmakers also voted 221-207 on a separate measure that would add seven days of paid sick leave to the agreement.

Members of eight of the 12 rail industry unions agreed to Biden’s deal, but four other unions voted down the agreement and said they were prepared to strike if the deal does not also include their demands for sick leave.

The votes come after Biden on Monday asked Congress to implement the labor agreement and require both sides to abide by it before a December 9 deadline that could trigger an industry-wide strike.

What To Watch For

The Senate still needs to vote on the measure before December 9. In a statement issued following the House vote, Biden urged the Senate to take up the measure “quickly” and “send a bill to my desk for my signature immediately,” warning that failure to act this week would trigger “disruptions to our auto supply chains, our ability to move food to tables, and our ability to remove hazardous waste from gasoline refineries.” Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) has threatened to hold up the vote if the upper chamber does not agree to the new sick leave policy.

Key Background

Rail companies and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce encouraged lawmakers to ratify the labor agreement, warning a rail strike could put hundreds of thousands of people out of work. Railroad workers unions held firm to their demands for more sick leave following Biden’s Monday plea to Congress to pass his deal, which did not include more paid days off. The unions have complained that railroad companies’ attendance policies often force them to be on-call for days or weeks at a time in an effort to avoid any disruptions in service, a situation they blame on understaffing. The Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employees, one of the four unions that voted against the deal, said in a statement Tuesday that leaving out paid sick leave “will worsen supply chain issues and further sicken, infuriate, and disenfranchise Railroad Workers.” House Democrats agreed to the enhanced sick leave policy after a push from progressives like Sanders. “After hearing from our Members, we are in agreement that a nationwide rail strike must be prevented — and that more must be done to secure the paid sick leave that hard-working railroaders deserve,” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said in a Tuesday letter to House Democrats announcing the vote.

Contra

Ian Jeffries, president of the Association of American Railroads, argued this week the unions have not made a “holistic effort” to engage in discussions about companies’ sick leave policies, CNBC reported. Jeffries said previously that unions have historically agreed to increased wages in lieu of more sick days. Current policies generally allow paid sick leave after four unpaid days. Railroad companies have also argued the new contract offers the steepest wage increases in decades.

Crucial Quote

“We must act now. I urge a strong bipartisan ‘yes’ vote on both adopting the Tentative Agreement and securing additional paid sick leave,” Pelosi said Wednesday on the House floor.

Big Number

$2 billion. That’s the amount of money the U.S. economy could lose per day under a rail strike, industry groups forecasted.